Vanilla Apricot Jam

1. Add apricots, sugar, and salt to a saucepan. Squeeze juice from 1/4 slice of lemon into the saucepan and add lemon to the pan. Remove seeds from vanilla bean and add both the pod and seeds to the pan. Use a whisk to slightly mash up the apricots. Bring to a boil on medium high heat. Once the mixture starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste the jam to check the sweetness level and add additional sugar if needed. Mix often so jam does not burn on the bottom.
2. Once the jam is boiling with small bubbles and has a shiny “skin” layer on top, turn off the heat. Remove vanilla pod and set aside to cool.

Nut Bars

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 x 13 pan and line with parchment paper, leaving some paper to hang over the edges.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, almond meal, oats, sugars, salt, baking soda, ground cardamom, ground ginger, ground fennel and fenugreek powder until well combined. Pour in melted ghee or butter and mix until you get a sandy texture and all the flour is moist. Reserve 3/4 cups of the mixture and set aside. Take the rest of the mixture and evenly press it into the bottom of the 9 x 13 pan. Evenly spread the vanilla apricot jam on top.
3. Add chopped pistachios and walnuts to the reserved flour mixture and mix. Sprinkles the mixture over the top of the jam and gently press down.
4. Bake bars for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.