Homemade Granola Bars

Twenty boxes of SOS DVDs came in the mail this week.  SOS stands for The Sound of the Spirit, a movie my Dad produced last summer.  Check out the movie website at http://www.soundofthespiritmovie.com/  Anyway, seeing the DVDs reminded me of all the baking we did for the movie crew.  My sister Madelyn and I were the catering crew for a team of some 40 cast and crew members.  A daily favorite was our granola bars. It started out with a marshmallow base. The white fluff melted perfectly in the sizzling butter.  The pads of butter were a hot sun in the August sky.  The marshmellows were fluffy clouds, growing bigger every moment.  My favorite part was grinding up all the grains.  With a simple coffee grinder I made hard sesame seeds crumble to dust. I also ground up peanuts and sunflower seeds. The grainy powder mixed in well with the marshmellow.  A cup of oats, and some crushed up graham crackers added more texture, followed by raisins, dried cranberries and chocolate chips. My wrist would burn while I stirred the stiff mixture.  The sticky marshmallow began to cool on my wooden spoon, like a stick of honey blown through a cotton field.  Just like cereal treats, I would then press the sticky substance into a pan.  Usually I would coat my hands with cresco so they wouldn't stick to the granola bars. Like I said this was a healthy favorite.  Try it yourself with a marshmallow base and crushed up graham crackers. You can add any other seeds or grains to your satisfaction.