At the Cabin

It's a shock to feel as if I have been hit by the sudden fact that it isn't only me that's moving away, something I can control, can always know when I'll be visiting friends again, but also the people I have grown to accept as always being around, always being there, will too, move away, and find new adventures on greater, larger, and expanding coast lines. As this week goes on, more of my friends update their Facebook statuses and with their new location, or post photos of their new dorm room home.

It came when I saw one of my good friends on the island only last Friday, and I was so absorbed in running from errand to errand as well as finding time for a quick coffee with mum before heading to a friends, worried about seeing her before she left to university as well, that I didn't even think that just that evening, he would be flying across the country for a semester in university. And I'm sure he's not the only person I've missed while I've been so wrapped up in my own move. 

After last weekend, we packed a little more and filled an entire row of boxes to be kept, and to be given away, but I also took a few days off to spend a couple of nights at my friends cabin, a place I have visited with her family for years, and a place where it is easy to forget everything else, and just enjoy the sound of the waves on the beach, or the numerous trips in the rowboat in hope of pulling up a big crab from the trap out in the bay.  

Although the weather only stayed sunny for the first day, we arrived early and enjoyed the bright sun on the beach, and on the paddle board with the gentle waves that calmed as they entered the bay. Up at the cabin, there is no sense of time, and no sense of obligation. There is no routine to follow either, only the slow movement of the sun across the sky, and sometime you can see the soft glow of the moon as well, which in its movement controls the telling changes in the tides, sometimes leaving only a thin strip of rocky beach, but which can also reveal over one hundred meters of wet sand, dotted with little holes where clams hide underneath, and also where tiny crabs scuttle across and try to get away as you walk nearer.

The second day, with the sun hidden behind the clouds, tanning didn't look like a successful endeavour, and so we packed a cooler with drinks and supplies to be hauled to the other side of the island, a short walk through the forest, where the beach opened up to the wide ocean, and we could find delicious, fresh clams just under the sand. Eager in excitement, and not wanting to wait until the four o'clock low tide, we left for the beach closer to two, and spent over three hours hunched over the sand, one shovel between the eight of us, and sometimes using empty oyster shells to dig through and sift between razor and butter clams. With half a bucket full of medium to large butter clams, we finally packed up and headed back to the cabin, the only evidence of our search were the wide holes in the sand where we had dug, which would be quickly filled as the tide pulled up the beach, wiping away any footprints left as well.

As much as I tried, I couldn't keep my mind from picturing moments at home when I would be packing, wiping away the evidence that we had ever lived in our house, despite the calm sounds of the row boats oars against the waves, a rhythmic music that should have left me in the moment, without thoughts of what I had willingly taken a few days to get away from. 

Let's be honest though, the cabin tempts you, coaxes, and seduces with its cute and warming appearance, the comfortable lifestyle of spending time at the beach, and spending time with family wrapped up in blankets and drinking hot cocoa before bed as the late August night brings in a chill with the wind. Every single luxurious moment at the cabin is time when you are free to forget everything else, and within the coastline of the bay, you are sure to fall madly in love with the place, the relaxed atmosphere created by all the people, the beautiful beach where everyone spends the day or out on the water in small boats, and the cute row of colourful cabins along the shore where little wooden planks make an easy path to everyone's personal beach spot, and where most days are spent.

Before I left on the boat for my friend's cabin, I made up a batch of these delicious, luscious and rich strawberry coconut bars, a variation from a recipe by Gluten Free Goddess, and their flavour and delicacy reminds me of the sweet moments back up at the cabin. Back home with mum, we had a bar each, and admired the consistency and the taste, sweet and decadent, and the next time someone asks, "what do you eat," when I tell them I can't eat everyone's staple of pasta and burgers, I will tell them, this. 

Strawberry Coconut Bars

{print me here}

As a variation of Karina's Raspberry Coconut-Almond Cookie Bars, I want to thank her for something that is so delicious, that I can truly share it with those who frown at a wheat free diet, and only think of everything I can't eat, remarking that everything I eat must taste awful. In all honesty, I can give these bars to share, and almost see their realisation in between hungry bites, and between trying to remark how sweet, how delicious, and how addicting these are while fighting the temptation of another. This truly is a recipe to impress, but it doesn't take too many steps to perfect this bar and to cut it into squares to be served.

{makes 16 bars}

{Ingredients:}

Crust:

3/4 cup almond flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup tapioca flour

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon xantham gum

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup earth balance, or butter 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

10 oz. fresh strawberry jam 

Crumble Topping:

1/3 cup sorghum flour

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons earth balance, or butter

Coconut Topping:

1 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut chips

3 tablespoons earth balance, or butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

{Directions:}

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, the piece extending up the sides so that you will be able to lift the bars from the pan in one piece.

For the crust. In a large bowl, combine flours, sugar, xantham gum, salt, baking powder, and spices. Add in earth balance and vanilla extract, using your hands crumble the flour mixture and butter together to blend and create an almost sandy texture. However, when molded together, the mixture should hold its shape. Add more butter if not. You can also use a pastry cutter for this step.

Press crust mixture into the prepared pan, pushing down evenly and spreading across the entire bottom of the pan. 

Bake the crust for 7 minutes in the centre of the oven. 

Remove, and set aside, leaving the oven heated.

For the crumble topping. While the crust cools, prepare the crumble topping by combining the sorghum flour and brown sugar. Slowly add in vanilla, and cut in earth balance. Again using your hands to rub the butter into the flour, forming crumbs slightly larger than before. Set aside.

For the coconut topping. Melt earth balance butter over low heat in a saucepan, and once melted, stir in coconut chips and vanilla. Once coated completely, remove from the heat and set aside.

For the topping. Spoon strawberry jam over the slightly cooled crust, and spread evenly, pushing to the edges, with thicker amounts in the centre. 

Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over top.

Layer on the coated coconut topping, evenly spreading over the crumble.

Bake. Place the bars in the centre of the oven, and bake for 20 minutes, or until the coconut begins to brown slightly, and curl from the heat. Set aside to cool before removing from the pan.

Using the edges of the parchment paper to pull, remove the bars from the pan, and set on a wire rack to cool completely. The bars will be extremely difficult to cut if they have not cooled completely, if the temptation can be resisted. Karina suggested 20 minutes in the freezer before cutting, however I didn't find I needed this step, and cut the bars after waiting while they cooled on the counter. 

Wrap leftover bars in parchment paper, and store in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Enjoy this sweet treat with luxury and decadence! xx S