Vegan Power Balls

Follow up to the previous Apricot-Bourbon Mustard post.

 If apricots can get soaked, so can figs.

 On a besotted roll....

Most mornings, as soon as it becomes light or warm enough, I go outside. Often wearing my bathrobe, with a second cup of coffee in tow, the garden calls for my attention and I jump in. The aches and pains go away. Knowing a good breakfast would keep me going, I get too involved in a project or too dirty to stop. By the time my stomach juices are gnawing and dizziness sets in, I'll grab my go to breakfast in haste, chomping some raw oats and molasses to sooth the appetite. Odd choice, but anyone who knows me well, knows of my secret hankering for raw oats. A bona fide oat nut, cravings for them run deep in my bones. Something about their texture sticks to the ribs. Sweetened with molasses adds iron, minerals and B vitamins. A bowl keeps me going and going...
But when stormy weather sets in, this gardener must stay indoors and make time for Plan B, the kitchen.

Perusing the pantry for inspiration, it all started with an old bag of dried figs. In Santa Cruz slang, "Dude, they were like totally gnarly." Their sugars had crystallized, heightening sweetness but lowering visual appeal, sadly not eye candy. Catching a creative wave, I chopped them into raisin sized pieces, covered them with rum (yo ho ho) and put them aside, awaiting further instruction from the kitchen muse.

A myriad of ingredients step up to the plate and declare, "Play Ball!" My beloved oats form a team with other raw components. Cheering, "Let's Roll!" the idea of power balls hits a home run. They are singing something about take me out to the garden. . . I don't care if we never come back. (OASIS-Over Active Silly Imagination Syndrome.)

Voila! Breakfast Balls to go!  Easy, high energy bites that keep going and going and going...
The booze is just for flavor. Pour it off and save it for a rainy day.

Good to Go

makes 18 - 20 balls

1 cup chopped figs, soaked overnight in rum
rum, enough to cover the figs
2 cups raw oats
1/2 cup roasted slivered almonds, unsalted
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, unsalted
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoon molasses
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt

pour off rum from the figs, combine all ingredients, tightly roll into ping-pong sized balls,
substitutions are always accepted, roll your own, store in fridge. Have a ball.