Congratulations to the Northwood Aces... Eastern PA Middle States 12 and under Team Tennis Champions!

Just a proud Dad saying congrats to Louis and his teammates for winning their recent Team Tennis Tournament at West End Racket Club.  They came out on top after a long, hot, grueling, well-fought-by-all team tennis match.  They now advance to the Regional Finals in Princeton NJ on August 5th.  Special kudos go out to both Coach Jim and Coach Giant for their great coaching, dedication, positive influence, and kindness provided to all the team and their families!

Good luck Aces...and have FUN!

Thanks Giada!! A GF Version of Giada's Apricot Oat Bars

I recently saw an episode of Giada At Home, and saw something that I had to try!  It was a delicious-looking apricot oat bar.  So, I did the conversion with a few twists, and they turned out wonderfully.  Below is the way I altered her recipe to meet the GF requirements.  Please see her original recipe at Food Network's website.

APRICOT OAT BARS

Filling

1 1/3 cup apricot preserves (Smucker's is definitely GF as of this printing)
10 dried apricots, chopped into 1/4- inch pieces

Crust

1 3/4 cups GF flour blend
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 cups GF oats
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, at room temp, sligtly beaten
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9x13 baking pan, and line with parchment paper.  Then butter or spray (with vegetable oil cooking spray) the parchment paper.

For the filling, mix the preserves/jam with the chopped dried apricots.  Set aside.

For the crust, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.  Stir in the oats and walnuts.  Add the butter, egg, and vanilla, and stir until thoroughly incorporated.

Divide half the crust, and spread evenly into pan.  Then spread apricot filling, leaving about a half-inch on all sides (the filling spreads out when cooking).  Gently drop the remaining crust over the filling and spread evenly.  Don't worry if it is sparsely covered, the crust also spreads when cooking.

Bake until lightly golden, about 30 minutes.  Cool for an hour or so, then cut into bars.  Store in an airtight container in the frig (for us gluten free bakers) for 3-5 days.

Trust me, they won't last 3-5 days!  :  )