Sesame Super Bars

Last Friday we received a full set of printouts of our book in the mailbox. It’s the first time that we see all the chapters fully designed and printed out. We have seen a few spreads digitally earlier, but this was different. It felt real.

We knew that it wouldn’t be easy to write a cookbook with no previous experience, but we had no idea that it would be so very very difficult. We have had tremendously high expectations on ourselves during this process, and every little thing that didn’t end up perfect felt like a complete failure. We have doubted the photos, recipes, chapters, texts and design details. I guess most writers go through this inferno, but it feels like it somehow has been extra difficult for us.

I am sure that our editor has David & Luise voodoo dolls hidden under her desk, to punch every time she receives an email from us. Otherwise I have no idea how she has been able to handle us. All our emails to her have been filled with questions, changes, doubts and insecurity. And all her responses have been cheering, understanding and uplifting. (Thank you Kate!!)

The reason why we have been so doubtful is of course because we so badly wanted to create the perfect book. A cookbook that shows how versatile, uncomplicated and delicious vegetarian food can be. A book that inspires and is beautiful to look through, but also helpful for anyone who wants healthier eating habits. A book that captures the voice and soul of this blog and also explains the thoughts behind our cooking philosophy. We wanted the book to be so perfect that, for a while, it felt like nothing was good enough.

When we sent the finished manuscript and photos to our publisher we were happy that we had been able to deliver on time, but also dead scared. Is this really good enough?

So when the printouts landed in our mailbox we climbed up in our loft bed (better than the living room sofa) with tea and sesame bars, and read everything through from the first chapter to the last. As we sat there, turning the pages, reading the recipes, making small notes and text edits, we didn’t see those small imperfections anymore. We saw the book that we had just made. And we actually liked it! There are some great recipes in there. Some very personal texts. And beautiful photos.

We can’t hardly wait to show it to you.

The release date is still far ahead, sometime around mid April. As soon as we have more info about it we definitely will let you know.

We mentioned above that we have been snacking on these sesame bars while proofreading. They are very uncomplicated, tasty and surprisingly nutritious for being a sweet snack. Apart from sesame seeds they are also filled with various super berries, honey and walnuts.

Sesame Super Bars
Makes around 18 

1 1/2 cup (360 ml / 150 g) walnuts
1 cup (240 ml / 145 g) sesame seeds (we used half unhulled and half hulled)
1/3 cup (80 ml / 40 g) goji berries
1/2 cup (120 ml / 70 g) dried super berries (such as aronia, inca, mullberries or unsweetened cranberries)
4 tbsp honey or maple syrup
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup (120 ml / 55 g) shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp salt

Lightly toast the walnuts in a large saucepan on low heat for a few minutes. Transfer them to a food processor and blitz into a coarse flour. Add the sesame seeds to the sauce pan, make sure the heat is low as the sesame seeds are very heat sensitive – you want to lightly toast them without burning. Meanwhile, add all the berries to the food processor. Pulse for at least a minute, then pour everything into the sauce pan. Add honey, coconut oil, shredded coconut and salt and stir around until everything is combined, sticky and warm.

Cover a 8×10-inch (20×25 cm) baking dish with parchment paper and pour the sesame mixture into it. Flatten it out with your fingers and the backside of a spoon (dip it in water to prevent the sesame seeds from sticking to it). Put in the fridge for at least an hour, then cut them up and wrap in sandwich paper.