idiot proof

This soup really is. And oh my God it’s tasty:

Born of some low-quality pears that were simultaneously hard in some places and growing huge brown spots in others, I give you…

Idiot Proof Chilled Pear Bisque

3 pears
2 stalks of celery, leafy tops included
1/4 cup yogurt
water as needed

Chop pears. Put in blender. Chop celery. Microwave for two minutes until shrunken and soft. Add to blender. Add yogurt to blender. Add enough water to get your blender going and puree, adding water as needed to achieve the consistency of your liking.

Done.

I thought about adding herbs/spices/other things but then I tasted this and was like “No. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.” It is subliiiiiiiiiime. Cool, refreshing, sweet, complex.

Not so idiot proof: I was totally intrigued by this recipe for homemade Clif bars. I made a number of “tweaks” to the recipe that were… um… kind of to its detriment, as it turns out.

- Whole wheat flour instead of brown rice flour
- regular rolled oats instead of quick oats
- maple syrup instead of brown rice syrup
- omitted brown sugar
- omitted forgot vanilla

Everything looked okay as I prepared it:

 

The smell of this almond-butter maple-syrup mixture was way too delicious to even describe.

Combined the dry (I used dried cherries for my fruit and almonds for my nuts)

Laid out in the pan it looked nice….

   

But then it came time to slice and… not so much. Boo. I absolutely blame myself and not the recipe. I will say that in spite of being a mess the “bars” (let’s call them single servings of granola, as that’s basically what I ended up making) tasted delicious.

I had a bar a serving of granola on top of the last (*sob*) of the farmer’s market Greek yogurt for lunch.

It really makes great granola- alternately soft, chewy, crumbly, sweet, nutty, and filling.

And this yogurt, for reals, just LOOK at that consistency. The people at this farm in Leesburg are just absolute alchemists with nonfat milk.

That yogurt is so rich and awesome that I actually couldn’t finish that whole bowl container so afternoon snack here I come.

And lunch was rounded out with idiot proof soup and some fresh green beans that I ate raw because they were just SO DELICIOUS.

I get a ridiculous amount of enjoyment counting all the food groups I include in a given meal, and this has it all! Fruit and veg from the soup, veg from the green beans, and protein; healthy fat; grains; and fruit from the granola-yogurt bowl. Go. Me.