I think I may be the only person on the planet who doesn’t really like Clif bars. At least not the original variety that are like thick chalky bricks, those always give me acid reflux and make my tummy hurt. I have no idea why they do that.

I decided to give this Clif Mojo bar a try because…well…because it has pretzels in it. There’s really nothing more to it than that, I was just intrigued.

Ingredient list is pretty clean, lots of stuff in it but nothing I’m too afraid of.

It clocks in at 190 calories which is a little bit low for a satisfying snack but still good. 9 grams of protein and another 9 grams of sugar are both respectable stats. And I was worried about the salt content with this being chock full of pretzels, one of the most classic of salty snacks, but at 220 milligrams it’s really not totally unreasonable.

Appearance: I like the cobbled-together look of this bar. Loosely clinging together pieces of pretzel, puffed rice, peanuts, and peanut butter chips. I was very excited to see those adorable little peanut butter chips, I didn’t even know they were there until I opened it. Nice golden sheen from the brown rice syrup too.

Texture: Crunchy and chewy, a bit jagged but not unpleasant. There’s no sogginess in the pretzels from being in contact with the moisture from the brown rice syrup. Peanut butter chips are buttery smooth and the puffed rice is a nice subtle crackle.

Taste: I expected this to be a contrasting sweet and salty flavor, but it was really mostly salty. Not a bad thing, just not what I expected. The peanut butter chips are subtle, they provide a nutty flavor without any additional salt or sweetness. The salt comes solely from the pretzels, with some bites being less salty and others very salty when you bite into a piece with big salt crystals.

Overall, I liked this bar but I don’t think it’s one I’d add to the regular rotation. It’s definitely light years better than those regular thick pasty Clif bars, but still not that exciting. However, if you’re a lover of salty snacks more than sweets, this might be just right for you. I, however, was really hoping for that awesome contrast between salty and sweet. I think a bit of honey flavor would have taken this over the edge for me.

Salty, sweet, or both at the same time?

August 31, 2011 Alayna Discussion 8 comments

Not a whole lot of exciting stuff going on here lately.

I’ve kind of been in a bad habit of slacking off a lot. Not out of laziness, but rather because my mind is so consumed with thoughts of moving that I feel somewhat frantic even though I’m not. This constant busy feeling has kept me from tackling other projects because I feel like I don’t have time for them, but I absolutely do!

I’ve started slowly packing, trying to get a little done without forcing us into living out of half-packed boxes for this last month that we’re here.

I did manage to use up a few of those beautiful tomatoes we were given in a delicious tomato vegetable soup. It was so bright and flavorful with those perfectly juicy tomatoes in it.

And this past weekend Jeff and I snuck out for a little date at a new restaurant in Decatur called No. 246. It’s an Italian-inspired menu focusing on pastas, pizza, and lots of small plates for sharing.

Highlights of the meal were the toasts with 3 spreads: cannelini bean, pork rillettes, and lemon ricotta with pickled mushrooms…

Then, a tasty charcuterie pairing of coppa ham and a semi-soft cheese called Moses Sleeping, paired with a plum jam.

And a spicy garganelle pasta with braised rabbit and broccoli rabe.

We also had delicious cocktails and a chocolate tart with sea salt and olive oil.

I almost never order chocolate desserts. I do like chocolate, but I don’t swoon over it like so many women do. I always prefer creamy desserts or warm fruit crisps, but something was telling me to go for the chocolate tart and I’m glad I did. It was so rich and the fruity olive oil really did add something wonderful to it.

All in all though, we were not in love with No. 246. It was much too expensive for the quantity of food we received and though this may sound like a weird complaint, the acoustics in there were terrible! It was so uncomfortably loud that Jeff and I could barely speak to each other and had to yell our orders to our waiter. Not exactly the kind of atmosphere I like to eat in. Also, the bread was painful to eat. It was so crunchy and hard, like eating shards of broken glass. And as you can see above, we had a lot of it to crunch through.  Anyway, I’m glad we tried it.

Now, back to packing!

August 30, 2011 Alayna Discussion 6 comments

As promised, I present to you the recipe for these amazing little apple butter oat bars I made in my frazzled cooking bender yesterday.

It sounds like I’m not the only one around here that is craving the flavors of fall already. I’m desperately longing for pumpkin butter, warm applesauce, baked apples, kabocha squash, hot cider, and all the other delicious foods we only get to eat around the winter holidays.

I made these same bars last week in another cooking frenzy but with strawberry jam and almonds instead. They were definitely yummy, but I’m just so over all the bouncy summer berries and very ready to break into the firmer fall fruits. Biting into one of these made me feel like I was wearing a fuzzy sweater and snowed in on the couch with a big warm blanket and a cup of hot tea.

Apple butter oat bars

This quick and simple dessert or snack is not too sweet and features the warm flavors of cinnamon and apples.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Yield: 16 bars

Ingredients

• 1 stick of butter (room temp.)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup apple butter

Cooking Directions

1. Cream together butter and sugars in a mixer.
2. Add egg and mix to combine.
3. Whisk together flours, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.
4. Add dry mix to wet in three parts, mixing gently between each addition.
5. Fold in oats by hand and divide mixture into two equal parts
6. Press half the dough into a buttered and floured 9x9 baking pan and top with the apple butter.
7. Pinch off small pieces of the remaining dough and dot all over the top making sure to get all the way around the edges.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.
9. Let cool in pan, turn out onto a cutting surface, and cut into bars.

These aren’t too heavy on the butter and sugar either. It wouldn’t be naughty for you to pop one or two for breakfast, with a rich cup of coffee or herbal tea. Just enough sweetness for a morning pastry.

I intended on sending half of these to work with Jeff to keep me from eating all of them, but I don’t think I can part with them!

What foods do you most closely associate with fall?

August 25, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 19 comments