cooking with KIDS...or the neighbor's dog....

I was babysitting Yogi Wednesday and it is JULY and I had a batch of raspberries...I hear all year long "Oh, I still love your rapberry bar recipe!".  It is not really mine, it is PETA's, but it is SUCH a July treat. Raspberries are so expensive all year long and suddenly they are growing in my yard and cheap at the store...
funny, the one recipe people remind me of has nothing to do with my 4 favorites, peanut butter, chocolate, pizza or tortillas...but it is true I WOULD KILL FOR RASPBERRIES or certainly knock people out of the way to get at blueberries...
I first made these after enjoying a version of them at a favorite coffee shop:  their only vegan treat were some type of tasty oatmeal bar then I saw the PETA raspberry bars.  So easy, so tasty, no dairy AND yesterday I made these gluten free with oat flour for the first time. **** AND, oh JOY, I found  a similar recipe using blueberries (click here) to try next week...
The funny part, as you see, is having a visiting dog who is as big as a horse....I am always glad Penny is no bigger, because she would get food off the table and counter....Yogi is more than big enough to do that, AS YOU SEE IN THE PICS BELOW, but he is a good dog, unlike MY dog....can you believe I did a baking project with the help of 2 dogs and one cat?



Raspberry oat bars

3/4 cup fresh raspberries
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup unbleached flour (gf oat flour works fine too)
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup Earth Balance or other vegan margarine

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square pan and line with greased foil.
• In a food processor, purée the raspberries.
• In a bowl, combine the raspberry purée, the sugar, and the lemon juice and whisk until mixed. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 3 minutes and remove from the heat. Whisk for 5 minutes and cool.
• Combine the brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Using a pastry blender or your hands, incorporate the butter to form a crumbly mixture.
• Press 2 cups of the dry mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Top with the raspberry mixture, leaving a quarter-inch edge. Press the remaining dry mixture on top.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

Makes 12 servings