Feeling a bit under the weather tonight and as such I'm choosing to have a quiet night in. "Quiet nights in" always involve baking. Tonight, I had some strawberries and mangos that were getting dangerously ripe, so, voila - Strawberry Mango Oat Bars! I promised my friend Louise I would post this recipe if they turned out.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup margarine (I used Earth Balance, suppose you could use butter if you were so inclined)

2 ripe mangos, mushed

3 cups ripe strawberries, casually chopped

2 packets Splenda (OK, go ahead and use real sugar if you must - that'll be about 1 tbsp)

1 tbsp cornstarch

Squirt of lemon juice

Instructions

1. Throw the flour, rolled oats, sugar and margarine in a bowl and mix (with your fingers preferably) well until the ingredients are fine and crumbly.

2. Reserve 1 cup of crumbly stuff and then press the rest into a greased 8 x 8 baking pan so it forms a hard crust. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 F.

3. Mix the mango, strawberries, cornstarch, Splenda and lemon juice.

Mixing the fruit.

4. Pour on top of the baked crumbly crust and then sprinkle the reserved cup of crumbly stuff on top.

Ready to go in the oven!

5. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 F.

My sous-chef wasn't willing to wait.

6. Wait until cool to slice. Makes 8 bars.

Et voila! Think these might be good with a little coconut "ice cream."