Raspberry Oat Bars (Page 217)

These bars were really really good. Make them! You won't regret it. I've been using my flex days for baking and these bars caught my eye. I bought a jar of "Bonne Maman" jam and used the entire thing. The bars were the perfect amount crunchy and with the raspberry jam they weren't too sweet. They did not last very long!

I'd give these four stars and two bars. They took a while to make because I had to bake the bottom first and then put on the jam and topping and bake the top. I was glad I was making them on a day off.

Chickpea-Cashew Hummous - Page 112

This is a not very artistic photo of very tasty hummous. I have been eating more vegetables as snacks and we wanted a dip that was tasty and healthy. The spices in this hummous- especially the cumin, give it a very unusual taste. it doesn't taste like conventional hummous, but it does taste very good. My only complaint was that the hummous was very dry and so it was a bit of a challenge to use it as a dip (it tended to crumble and fall off the veggie sticks!). If we made it again, we'd try to find a way to make it a bit more spreadable/dippable, maybe just adding some water would help - or maybe it needed a bit more oil.

2.5 stars and I'm guessing one bar... again, Nic made this, so I'm not sure how long it took him, but it didn't seem to be too onerous.

Bhangra Burrito - Page 202

After being fascinated by the recipe for a long time, Nic finally made Bhangra Burritos a few weeks ago. For the girl who doesn't LOVE curry, these were a pleasant surprise and we both really enjoyed the Burritos. We enjoyed these with a generous helping of our home made Mango chutney, but any chutney would add a lot to the recipe. You can see that Nic has also loaded his burrito up with cilantro. Things that have cilantro on the side generally work the best for us!

I didn't make these so I'm not sure how many bars they would be rated, but I'd give them 2.5 stars for taste.

Thai Dragon Bowl - Page 145

After a hiatus from using Rebar for a while, we have been back at it with a vengeance. A few weeks ago I made the Thai Dragon Bowl soup. It was very good, although I put in extra coconut milk which diluted the flavour somewhat. I wanted it to be a bit more coconut-y but I think that I would have been better off keeping to the recipe. However, it was a very good soup. We added bok choy and left out the cilantro.

I'd say two bars and two stars but this could likely be raised to three stars for taste by following the recipe a bit more closely. I'll be interested in your opinions if any of you make this soup.

Apple pecan (nut) bars with oat and rice flours

These are a wheat-free, dairy-free snack bar. While very tasty, I'm not sure it's worth omitting the wheat and eggs unless you're on a strict diet. The flax eggs worked wonderfully, and the brown rice and oats were well ground by my (new!) coffee grinder (reserved only for non-coffee items). Due to the milling flours and seeds, and shelling walnuts and hazelnuts (from my and Rob's yards, and replacing the pecans), this recipe took way longer than I thought it would. Although tasty, I'm not sure I'd make it again.
1 star, 3 bars

Yam and pepita quasedillas

These were fantastic, but with the added work of making the Honey Chipotle Sauce, Chipotle Chile Purée, and Flour Tortilla's, this was an immense amount of work for an evening. Although each recipe would have been easy on its own, combined, they were far too much work for such a relatively simple meal. While it's possible to buy your own tortillas to speed things up, I hate the excessive use of stabilizers and odd sounding chemicals in commercial tortillas that allow them keep on the grocery store shelf for eons. The Rebar tortillas were beautifully tender and tasty, and while "most of the time you'll spend on this recipe is dedicated to resting" that resting time is 2 hours, which still had me mixing, rolling, and frying for ~45 minutes.
2 stars and and 3 bars

Note on Lime-Honey Baked Yams. Yummy and easy to make, but difficult to take a photograph of. Like Carolyn, I have no picture. I would add more lime next time to accentuate the citrus zing!
2 stars, 1 bar

Banana Bread with Wheatgerm and Walnuts

I would agree with Carrie's assessment on the banana bread... it was good, but doesn't stand out above many other banana breads that I have made. I had trouble getting the big loaf to cook all the way through... maybe I should have used my two smaller loaf pans - or maybe I can blame the oven. The bread was a nice treat to have around for about a week.

Two stars - one bar