OMG Christine, Joan, & Linda... you guys DO exist! I am in shock as much as when the M&Ms saw Santa! LOL Annie, I'd never heard of Better than Peanut Butter until you mentioned it. I did a search, it's something like PB2, the lower in fat and calories stuff. Since I don't like PB2, I probably won't like that stuff either. To be fair, I LOVE peanut butter but I don't like anything "peanut butter-flavored" because they're not peanut butter, including peanut butter cookies and Reese! Sorry Kate, didn't meant to hijack your thread. :0) Back to the granola bar topic... I do use peanut butter as "glue" in my energy bars but you don't taste peanut butter at all. I use protein powder and cocoa powder so my energy bars taste more like chewy chocolate granola bars :-) Yummo! Al

I would think in order for it to clump you need to use sticky ingredients. Also, it could be that the clumping achieved in boxed cereal granola is from some kind of chemistry set the manufacturers have on hand in their laboratory - very possibly high fructose corn syrup or something along that line. Here's a base recipe I use, but I vary it some nearly every time I make it, depending one which nuts I have on hand, and how much honey or whatever ingredients I have on hand when I make it. I've never paid attention to whether it clumps or not - probably not much, but that's not something I've cared about. It is a tasty granola, though. It's from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone. 6 cups flaked or rolled grains (I use oatmeal) 1 cup chopped nuts 1 cup wheat germ 1 teasoon grated nutmeg 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon Salt 1 cup raisins (I omit these simply because I don't like raisins) 1/2 cup safflower or canola oil 3/4 cup honey, golden syrup, or maple syrup (I use a combination of honey and molasses, and usually only use about a half cup total - not big on sweet) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Toss the dry ingredients but not the raisins together, then add the oil and sweetener and toss again to coat them thoroughly. Spread the mixture on two sheet pans and bake until golden, turning every 10 minutes, add the raisins and let cool. As the granola cools, it will lose its stickiness and become crunchy. Store in a tightly covered jar. One other note from me - I set the oven a little cooler, because I find the granola browns too fast at 300 degrees. Maybe it's the way my oven is. I also like my cookie sheets with parchment paper - it makes clean up a whole lot easier, and it makes it so much easier to put the finished granola into my container - I just roll the parchment into a funnel and pour it into the container. Sally

For years I didn't care for potato chips or French fries though I liked potatoes prepared other ways, but the past few years there are times I crave them now. It's a combination of the oil/grease & salt. Rather than a certain food, I find that I now like specific dishes a lot more than I used to: stews, pot roast, sauerkraut, sausage, biscuits & gravy (notice the interest in heavy fat foods?) A kind of sad thing, I LOVED chocolate to the point of once buying & eating a whole BOX of Hershey's bars, & going to chocolate conventions for a few years. Now I've lost my taste for chocolate; I don't hate it, but I don't care if I have it or not, & when I do have a piece, it doesn't taste all that great. Calories I don't have to worry about, I suppose. It's also given me empathy for older people who have lost their taste for food.

My husband makes the best french fries. He cuts the russet potatoes in rounds....doesn't peel them. Then he cuts them in sticks, so they are about the size and thickness of my little finger. He has a pot of oil, and he dumps them all in at once...which tends to cool the oil a bit, but when the oil reheats and they finish frying, it is like they have been fried twice, which is the real way to make french fries. You fry them, drain them, and then fry them again. They are lightly crunchy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. I used to always cut my french fries length ways, but after seeing how he does it, I changed to his way. His still taste better than mine. I am another one who loves an electric skillet. I don't think I have ever fried potatoes in one, but I like frying chicken it better than I do using cast iron. And I have over 100 pieces of cast iron cookware. Or, did have. I have given a lot of it away.