As the cold air of January sets in and the businesses at the Market work through yet another COVID 19 lockdown, we wanted to take the time to introduce our guests to some of our valued partners who continue to serve the Kitchener-Waterloo area with fresh meats, cheeses, produce and other local delights every Thursday and Saturday.
We will be running an ongoing segment for the next 6 weeks that will take you inside the kitchens of many of our vendors to find out what they are cooking with items that you will find every week at the Market.
Our first recipe is being brought to you by Produce Express. Produce Express has been bringing fresh fruits and vegetables to the St. Jacobs Market year-round since 2000. They can be found inside the Market Building or in our Outdoor Market in the warmer weather with a variety of fresh produce from around the world each week. Their energetic and enthusiastic team loves interacting with both their regular and new customers and pride themselves on satisfying everyone with quality product, the best customer service and great deals every day!
They have chosen to share their recipe for Berry Cream Bars as it is one of their favourites and know it will soon become one of yours. The recipe incorporates tart yet sweet raspberries and blackberries with delicious honey, coconut and dates and is super easy to make – 20 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to make! They hope you enjoy it as much as they do and they look forward to seeing you at the Market soon.
Berry Cream Bars
Prep: 20 mins Cook: 20 mins
Serves: 8
5 whole Dates (Medjool), pitted (for the crust)
1 cup Almond Butter, (for the crust)
3/4 cup Coconut, shredded, sweetened (for the crust)
1 Tbsp Honey, Raw, (for 2nd topping)
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract, (for 2nd topping)
1 pinch Salt, (for the crust)
2 tsp Coconut Water, or coconut milk (for 1st topping)
1/2 cup Fresh Raspberries, (for 1st topping)
1/2 cup Fresh Blackberries, (for 1st topping)
1 tsp Lemon Juice, (for 1st topping)
14 oz Coconut Milk, placed in refrigerator overnight, only use the cream on top, leave behind the coconut water (for 2nd topping)
Process
Place dates in food processor and pulse to break down into pieces.
Then add almond butter, coconut, honey, vanilla extract and salt and pulse turn on to blend until ingredients are well combined.
Line a bread pan with parchment paper, add ingredients from the food processor and press down until even throughout. Place in freezer while finishing the rest of the ingredients.
Scoop out the coconut cream that has settled at the top of your canned coconut milk and place in the bowl and back in the fridge.
Place 2 teaspoons of coconut milk/water that is at the bottom of the can, into a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add raspberries, blackberries, honey and lemon juice in the pan and mix together. Let simmer for less than 5 minutes or until the berries become just slightly soft. You don’t want a soup. Let cool.
Now mix together the coconut cream, honey, and vanilla extract in the bowl that you placed in the fridge.
Once the berries have cooled, finishing the layers. Add the coconut milk mixture on top of the crust, spread out evenly, then pour the berries on top, once again evenly.
Place in the freezer for 1+ hours to harden a bit. And serve.
*To store these, store them in the fridge. The coconut milk will melt fast.
Taken from https://www.primalpalate.com/paleo-recipe/berry-cream-bars/