More thinking on the treadmill

Since the majority of my running lately has been on the treadmill to accomodate naps I've gotten in the routine of watching cooking shows and letting my mind wander to pass the time. Lucky for me Ophelia's naps coincide nicely with the 2 hour time window that our local public television channel has cooking on. Today I was watching Simply Ming whose show is wonderful; I can't wait to go to Blue Ginger when we're in Boston. I lost interest when he moved from the tempeh to roasted chicken stew and started thinking about the left over pumpkin puree I had sitting in the fridge. Bars, I can make pumpkin date bars like the Banana Bars I made last week. 9.25 miles and 1 hour 10 minutes later I had it all figured out. Now if only my treadmill thinking would solve real issues like figuring out a thesis topic!

Pumpkin Date Bars

1 cup plain almonds

1 cup pitted dates
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbsp agave nectar or honey

1/4 cup molasses (about that, I just emptied the jar)

1 cup GF flour (I used 1/4 cup oat made from ground GF oats, 1/2 cup rice and 1/4 cup tapioca)

1 tsp each cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice

3 Tbsps flax meal

6 Tbsps water

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix flax meal and water and set aside. Grind almonds until fine in food processor and pour into bowl, add flours and spices. Process dates in food processor until smooth, add pumpkin, molasses, agave nectar. Add date mix and flax mix to dry ingredients and combine.

Line pan with parchment paper and spread mix in (I used 9x13, could use 8x8 for thicker bars). Bake 15-20 minutes.