In a "Jam" Passion Fruit Bars

On our last trip to Hawaii we happened upon a farmer's market.  On any given day in different areas you can find a great farmer's market.  In Hawaii, it's everything you'd expect it to be.  Vendors selling lotions fragrant with tropical scents, Hawaiian clothing, trinkets made from coconuts, and loads of fresh fruits and vegetables.

As we passed one of the fruit stands, a gal held out a sample of the best avocado I've tasted in a long time.  Being a hop, skip, and a jump away from California's legendary avocados, you'd think they would be in abundance in Northern Nevada.  Unfortunately, this time of year, you're lucky to grab one from Mexico.  Primarily they are shipped from Chile.  So, back to the Hawaiian farmer's market...  We purchased one avocado the size of Rhode Island (actually the size of a child's football) and proceeded to have several sandwiches (counted 7) from this soft green wonder!  Where can you find a great tasting gigantic avocado for $1.00?!!  I know, I should be exporting them!

In addition to the avocado, I purchased some honey and passion fruit jam after happily sampling it.  Yum!  It waited in the cupboard until the right recipe came along.  I didn't want to just spread it onto a mediocre piece of bread!  I had this recipe in my files, not sure of its origin.  It called for raspberry jam in it, which I'm sure is great, but what if I replaced that one ingredient with this golden goodness, passion fruit jam?

Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter

3/4 cup passion fruit jam from Hawaii (or your favorite jam will do)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8 inch square pan.  In a bowl mix the brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and oats.  Mix the butter with a fork or your hands, until it is a crumbly consistency.   Press 2 cups of the mixture into the pan, spreading evenly.  Pat it down.  Then spread the jam over the top and sprinkle the remaining oat/flour mixture over the top.

Bake for about 35 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool, cut and devour!  These are really good!

The website for the Hawaiian  jam is: www.honomujams.com