Blueberry-Oatmeal Bars

Although I would love to take credit for these delicious blueberry bars, the recipe comes from one of my favorite recipe sites, http://www.fatfreevegan.com/. The only thing I changed was a substitution of brown rice syrup for agave nectar, since I'm all out. On the technical side, I also learned how easy it is to turn Quaker oats into oat flour. I used my beaten up old blender, and ground the oats almost all the way to a fine flour. I left some texture, which resulted in a bar with just the right chewiness. It's a great recipe, and I can always count on the FatFreeVegan Kitchen blog for crystal clear directions and beautiful photos. I also appreciated SusanV's account of the joys of picking blueberries. My favorite blueberry memory is from my time on Isle Royale in Lake Superior with Minnesota Conservation Corps. Isle Royale in late July, at least that year, was covered with wild berries - strawberries, raspberries, thimbleberries, blueberries, and others. I usually tried to be a responsible crew leader for our trail work, but I managed to work in extended - really, really, extended - breaks for berry picking and general lounging in the woods. Anyway, that's a good blueberry bar.