PLUM SPICE BARS

Hello all! This is my 200th blog post! Horray!!

My friend Jessica invited me to take some plums from her neighbours plum tree, which is hanging over her fence. We had permission from them of course. And so I grabbed the kids and headed to her house and let me tell you! There were loads of plums alright.

I brought home half a box and filled the sink while I washed them. I divided them up into ripe, blemished and unripe. I cut and pitted all the blemished ones and made jam, sauces and fruit leather. I gave tons of the ripe and unripe ones to friends and family, who even requested unripe ones! Then with the rest I am making these Plum Spice Bars with ground ginger, cinnamon and cardamom.

For all of those who don't know much about cardamom, I'll tell you a bit about it. There are two types of cardamom seeds, black and green. The aroma is very strong and resembles mint, ginger & nutmeg together. It has great health benefit and is used as a natural medicine all over the world. It is usually ground and added to warm water to make a tea like drink, to help with an upset stomach, digestive problems, teeth and gum infections, inflamed eyes and congested lungs. It is even taken to break up kidney and gall stones. Who knew! Super cool.

I used yellow plums for this square but feel free to use purple, red or whatever plum you can get your hands on. Make sure they are slightly soft to touch, not hard and unripe. And if they have blemishes and are cracked use those ones too! Cut off the bruised or mushy part and use the rest. Plums are filled with good ol' vitamin A, which helps improve organ function and vision.

I hope you all have the time to make this dish. The flavours are so unreal.

PLUM SPICE BARS
Serves 9

Base

• 3/4 cup oats - quick
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. brown rice flour
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. oat flour
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• just under 1/2 cup coconut oil, firm

Filling

• 1/2 cup plum jam - Approx. 5 plums, pitted and blended with 3 Tbsp. maple syrup & 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 3 plums, sliced thin

Topping

• 3 tsp. oat flour
• 3 tsp. brown rice flour
• 3/4 cup oats - quick
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, firm
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• 2 tsp. maple syrup

1. Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). For the base, add oats, brown rice flour, oat flour, coconut sugar, shredded coconut, cinnamon, cardamom and ginger to a food processor and blend until mixed. Scoop out into a bowl and add the coconut oil and stir until fully incorporated. Pour into a square baking dish, 6" X 6", lined with parchment paper. Spread out evenly, pressing firmly.

2. Make jam in a blender. Pour on top of base and smooth out evenly. Layer plum slices on top of jam.

3. Add topping ingredients to a bowl and stir. Consistency should be crumbly. Sprinkle topping over the plum filling evenly and bake for 40 minutes on the middle rack.

4. When the timer goes take out the dish and let cool for an hour before cutting into 9 equal pieces. 

Store in an air tight container. Will keep on the counter for 4 days.