Today’s Lunch Menu:

West African Peanut Soup and homemade granola bars.  Last night it was just me and Rocker for dinner.  I’ve been in a soup rut and hungry for granola bars.  I went to buy drill bits and made a detour to Croissants de France to get a baguette.  Somewhere in the middle I bought some Manuka honey at the New Zealand store.  Which by the way, I indulged with a spoonful of that honey straight from the jar and had to grab the edge of the counter it was so good! Oh honey!  Let me tell you, a perfect blend it was!   

Now the price of a box of granola bars is going to set you back about 5 to 6 dollars here so I opted to make my own.  I used this recipe—skipping the chocolate and basically using a random mixture of dried fruit, lots o’ nuts, cinnamon and a dollop of the honey.  "Why did I think granola bars were an ok healthy snack" ran through my brain as I dumped a can of sweetened condensed milk into the bowl.  Oh well.  They don’t use ovens in these parts, so we have a toaster oven of which the top element is kaput…or nearly kaput.  As a result the tops of the bars are a tad anemic looking, but taste just dandy.  I opted for a more gooey granola so everything works out for a reason. 😉 

The Chicken-Peanut soup recipe is from my pal, Krissy’s mama, Gale.  A fusion of crunchy peanut butter, tomato paste, chicken broth and curry powder—it was awesome!  And surprisingly easy to make with a one pot stop.  Love a savvy soup almost as much as a savvy craft project.

Now I’m just wishing you were here to have lunch with us! 

AND THE BLANK BAG TAGs WINNER IS:  CYNTHIA~commenter #4!  Yay Cynthia!  Email me your address so I can mail these off Saturday when I go to Hong Kong!