Hummus, Crackers, Granola Bars

Hmm, I think my kitchen is in need of some Spring Cleaning....

With that out of the way, i set out to prepare some hummus and crackers to bring to a friend's house for Ladies Night, and some nutty/seedy Granola Bars for my hubby's work lunches.

Made the hummus from dried garbanzos: 2 cups dried beans covered with 3 inches of water (didn't need that much) with 2 tsp baking soda. Boil then simmer for about 1 hour, until beans are falling apart. Let cool a bit and transfer the beans with some (not as much as i used) liquid into a food processor or blender. This time i seasoned with: 4 cloves garlic, smoked paprika - hot and sweet, salt, pepper, 4 T lemon juice, cayenne, few dashes curry powder, 1 habanero, some olive oil.

The crackers took flour, olive oil, warm water, fresh rosemary, dried garlic. Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

Granola Bar Recipe adapted from Enlightened Cooking.

I didn't have any OJ around so i subbed some splashes of honey/Peanut Butter and milk instead. I also added a pinch of coconut and subbed 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts and 1/2 cup sliced raw almonds for the 1 cup whole raw almonds. I used raisins instead of prunes and used roasted pepitas (so yummy) so i think there's a good balance of sweet/salty that Andy should like. I also stuck in some mini peanut butter cups to the top of the bars to add a little excitement to his life.

Okay, now i really need to vacuum. I love the morning light streaming in my back porch, not so much loving all the little granulets on the floor glaringly exposed!
PS - don't forget to enter for the free pasta! Drawing ends Friday!