My brain functioning at Level Prime on a Saturday morning:
So my roommate came down the stairs, and I said, “You know, you could take a couple of these seed bar things for lunch if you wanted.”
And she said, “Well, what are they?”
And I said, “They are, uh, seed bars.”
And she said, “Well, what is in them?”
And I said, “Idk a lot of…seeds.”
I even said “I-d-k,” not “I don’t know.” I think I must have internalized some language snobbery when I spent six hours a day inside a school building, but then I lived in the real world for a while, where none of that matters. I mean, the preservation of educated language matters to me, but only insomuch as knowing the rules well enough to be able to break them on purpose for wit, emphasis and laziness.
If you’re going to attempt this recipe, you needn’t worry about failing the technique itself. (This is literally one of the easiest no-bake recipes I’ve ever tried. Just mix in whatever the heck you want, stir and press into a pan. I didn’t add in fruit or chocolate or anything, but the options are numerous. Store them in the fridge or freezer though; they get sticky.)
No, the real difficulty of this recipe is the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual strength it will take for you to enter The Co-Op.
I’ve had opportunity to explore the various grocery co-ops around Minneapolis this year, and I’ve liked it. They appeal to my current life view of: “If I’m going to be eating, I’m going to be eating the flipping best food (when I am not eating McDonald’s, or more recently, much Ben & Jerry’s.)” So even if I’ve been a food/grammar snob at some points in life, I also eat Skippy (not the natural kind) and say “Brb” in real life and shop at Super Valu if the price is actually a super value.
But I digress. Excluding other, more difficult forms of coming by food (foraging, farmer’s markets, etc.), I present to you my collective wisdom on how to get the most out of your local co-op and look like a very obscure boss doing it (so much so that the natives will get up in your personal space to suggest recipes):
How to Be a Hipster of Grocery Stores
- Grow a beard. This step takes the most prep work, so you may want to plan out your trip a few weeks in advance. Unless you are me, in which case you need only will a scraggly, yet shapely beard to sprout mid-afternoon. A beard ensures you’ll fit in with the rest of the natives.
- Don’t forget your re-usable grocery bag. I have dozens of these and never remember to snatch them out of my trunk on the way into the store. Asking for a paper bag is a red misfit beacon of shame. If you do this, the cashiers may give you a deep side-eye and be less than helpful in finding the correct PLU for your hemp seeds. Which brings me to my next point:
- Shop the bulk section. The bulk section is the real reason I’ve been shopping at co-ops. It is so incredible! The prices are sooooo reasonable, and you can get exactly as much as you need so you don’t have two pounds of rye flour when you only needed 4 ounces. The bulk section also has fun cool items that you can’t find in other grocery stores.
- Know the language. Sometimes, if I want to add a little authentic flair to my interactions with the co-op workers, I will salt my conversation with a little nutrition/environment/social justice language. “Hi there, yes, is this beef organic non-GMO antibiotic grass fed hormone-less natural gluten-free vegan paleo cage-free locally sourced farm to table? I need that.”
- Get in, get out. If you don’t feel that you’re up to the above tasks, your best bet is to just keep your head down, eyeball your sesame seed measurement and get the heck out of Dodge. Hopefully you won’t be noticed.
Best of luck, my friends.
L
Seed Bars
Adapted from Bites for Babies
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