A Belated Welcome to 2017

Happy New Year to one and all!

December flew by.

My schedule was thrown out of whack by changes in piano lesson schedules,

time off with hubby,

making Christmas dinner for almost the whole church (only 17),

some special dates with my sweetheart

...

It was a pleasant season.

We had a simple celebration of our Saviour's birth.

There were no presents under the tree.

There was no snow.
There were no excited children on Christmas morning.

We were able to enjoy the day at church with the blessing of two normal church services.

We were able to share a Christmas meal with those, like us, who had no family in the area.

We are a blessed people.

This weekend, we have enjoyed the rare snowfall in NC.

The snow began Friday night,

and the 8 inches of snow closed everything down on Saturday and much of Sunday.

Oh, the simple joy of walking in the snow on the vacant streets of our little town.

It is still very cold, so the snow is oddly still on the ground 3 days later.

With the cold and snow this weekend,

I decided to try a new recipe.

I regularly bake with beans- white bean cake, choclate brownies ... .

This new recipe was for black bean gingerbread bars.

Yes, I did receive a strange look from my hubby,

but he will try anything once,

and he was the one hanging out of them on Friday night.

Are you daring?

Care to give them a try?

Black Bean Gingerbread Bars

from the Detoxinista

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, or 1 (15 oz.) can drained and rinsed

1/2 cup gluten-free oat flour (I just throw whole oats in my blender until they are like flour)

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9-inch square baking dish.
In the bowl of a large food processor fitted with an “S” blade (I used a high speed blender), combine the black beans, flour, oil, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, salt, baking soda, vanilla, molasses, and vinegar. Process until a smooth batter is formed.

Pour the batter into the baking dish.
Bake until the top feels firm to a light touch, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Cool completely before removing the bars from the pan and slicing.