It is amazing how time flies when you are doing a PhD: it is hard to think that it has been months since I have posted!  In the past few months, I have finished data collection, started writing in earnest, been to Egypt and simultaneously evacuated from Egypt by the university due to the bombings in Cairo. Regardless, I did get 2 weeks in Luxor, conducting field work at Karnak, crossing the Nile most days and getting some tourist attractions in. How did I survive in Egypt as a vegan? It is possible, and I mostly survived off bananas, fries, oriental salad, vegetable tagine and tomato soup. Oh, and Clif bars and vegan gelato, a gem that was a gelato shop run by German expats on the East Bank. It was a bit of a culture shock too, seeing starving horses pulling horse drawn carriages, donkeys carrying four people on its back, and stray dogs that obviously needed veterinary assistance, ASAP. Though I did give money to people to feed their horses, in most cases I am sure the money never reached their mouths.

The Ramesseum early in the morning.

To the mars bar slice, though: during an Australian Day BBQ at a friend's house, a large tin of rocky road and mars bar slice was provided for dessert (I was given Oreos for a vegan option). It was amazing how quickly the mars bar slice disappeared, even to the expense of the rocky road. Naturally, I didn't partake, but it did make me determined to make a vegan version. A little bit of context: mars bar slice was my signature dish in high school: I knew the recipe off by heart and I would make it for every celebration and birthday. Plus you know, occasionally just because.

Though it has been more than 3 years since I have had mars bar slice, I think I never made it because I thought a vegan version wasn't possible. That is where twilight bars come into play (not associated with the movies, thankfully). Not made for "vegetarian" vampires, but human vegans, they are a decent copy of the famous mars bar. Unfortunately, these babies are hard to come by (not to mention expensive), but worth it in the long run. I decided to make a small batch, and I was pleasantly surprised! Not a complete copy of the original, but a decent substitute. As my dad said, they are less creamy (the nougat ratio seems to be less in the twilight bar compared to the original mars bar), and if you are a true purist, use rice bubbles, not rice puffs. My boyfriend is not a fan of brown rice puffs, so he was disappointed while I loved them (he is infamously picky about food, however: everyone loves my cooking except for him). Regardless, if you make this I hope you adore them!

Makes around 9 small squares.

You will need:

2 x 60 g twilight bars
50 g vegan margarine
1 1/2 cups brown rice puffs or vegan rice bubbles
100 g vegan chocolate

Method:

1. In a double boiler, melt the chopped twilight bars with the margarine on medium to high heat. It will take 15 minutes to melt everything, and make sure the nougat is melted (it is always the last to melt, so be patient).
2. If using brown rice puffs, toast in the oven for 5-8 minutes on 180 degrees. Skip this step if using rice bubbles.
3. In a bowl, combine rice puffs with melted twilight bar mixture. Make sure it is thoroughly mixed before pressing into a small square lined tin. Place in the fridge.
4. Meanwhile, melt your chocolate of choice and spread over the base. Let it set in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour before cutting and serving.