Sweet (and ever-so-slightly spicy) Honey Glazed Mixed Nuts (Vegetarian)

First off - Happy Halloween!

As I mentioned in a previous post, a co-worker and friend of mine, Kathy, is having a baby really soon, and we had a baby shower for her at work this week. For a gift, I got her a locally made "baby sling" to carry her "little Hulk" around town in. The "baby slings" are really neat - we've seen women around town with them and their babies are never crying. When Brett and I were discussing what to get her, we liked that with the baby sling, the baby was able to stay close to Mom in transit and that probably helps to ease a lot of their anxiety. I also know the woman who makes these and sells them at The Peace Nook. I was very happy being able to get Kathy something that was not only useful, but also locally made - you can't beat that! I hope she and "the Hulk" make lots of good use out of it. (In case you are wondering "the Hulk" is the tentative name her husband gave the baby :-)).

I also needed to make a food contribution to her party and since the cake and other little nibblies were covered, I decided I would bring in nuts. I then decided to go beyond that and glaze the nuts, because I would rather, of course, have made something a little more extravagant for the occasion, but a purchased cake was already in the works. So this was my compromise - why buy something from the store when I could (happily) make something homemade?

A little note: These nuts are vegetarian as they contain honey and I know a lot of vegans don't eat honey. I am not sure whether this would work with agave or not. I can tell you that, at the very least, it wouldn't taste the same as this. Also, since I was making these for other people, I toned down the cayenne. The small addition of the cayenne in this recipe gave the nuts a smoky and savory flavor to complement the sweet flavors. If I had been making these for myself, I would have upped the cayenne and made this into "spicy-sweet" nuts, but I'm a freak like that and that is just how I roll. :-)

The local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = The Root Cellar
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

















Sweet (and ever-so-slightly spicy) Honey Glazed Mixed Nuts (Vegetarian)

3 cups of mixed nuts (I used 1 cup of peanuts, 1/2 cup of hazelnuts, 1 cup of cashews, and a 1/2 cup of walnuts)
1/3 cup of honey *
1 tbsp raw organic sugar
1 tbsp safflower oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne (or MORE! I was taking these into a baby shower so I had to keep them mild and sweet)

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine honey, sugar, oil, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne in a medium bowl.

Slowly stir in nuts and make sure to get the nuts evenly coated.

Place on a baking sheet and roast for 8-10 minutes - watching very carefully. You'll need to shake the pan a few times during the cooking process to keep the nuts from sticking.

Once removed from the oven, place in a single layer on parchment paper to dry for at least a few hours.

Store in a container for up to 3 days.

These were a pretty big hit at the party. And nobody was none-the-wiser that these nuts were homemade, not store bought. ;-)

'Til next time!

Midwestern Spice Chili

I have been craving chili for awhile, but had avoided making it until I could come up with something creative, as I have, over the years, pretty much ‘chilied’ myself out. You see, chili was one of the first things I learned how to cook back when I was still an omni, so I made it all the time and wore myself out on it (and Brett too!). Then I came across SusanV’s Gold Rush Chili and thought it was a good starting point. I modified it to our tastes, and this is what I came up with!

A little note of warning though, if you don't like spicy food, either cut out or cut down the roasted hot peppers and cayenne.

Midwestern Spice Chili
1 cup kidney beans, cooked
1 cup navy beans, cooked
1 cup black beans, cooked
15 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1/2 butternut squash, cubed and roasted
1 sweet potato, peeled, cubed and roasted
jalapenos and other hot peppers, roasted and sliced
1/2 bell pepper, roasted and diced
1/2 cup corn, cooked
1/4 onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
regular chili powder
chipotle chili powder
Mexican oregano
cumin
cayenne (of course)
black pepper
salt

Heat water in a large pot, add onions and cook 5 minutes, add garlic and cook another few minutes or until veggies are soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Spice to your liking and simmer over low heat for a half hour to an hour for the flavors to meld.

This makes quite a bit of chili. We had our fill for dinner, portioned out two servings for lunch and then froze the rest. You could also just cut the recipe in half.

I also thought I’d leave you with the ‘recipe’ for one of my favorite snacks: mixed nuts and dried fruit. I call it a ‘recipe’ because there is no actually preparation really involved other than mixing the ingredients together in a bowl. But I thought I’d share this snack as it’s delicious, healthy, and filling.















J's Yummy Snack Mix

(Note: All my ingredients were organic and purchased from the bulk section. It cost less that $5 to make a HUGE container full of this.)

roasted peanuts*
raw almonds
raw sunflower seeds
raw cashews
dried mango
dried cranberries
raisins
dried cherries

*This is the only nut I bought roasted and salted as I wanted a little salitness in the mix. You could just use raw peanuts too if you wanted.

Mix everything together and chow down.

So yummy!

'Til next time!

Pineapple Quinoa Stir-Fry with Cashews and Adzuki Beans

I had looked at the Pineapple-Cashew-Quinoa Stir-Fry in Veganomicon a few times, but always passed over it as the flavoring just didn’t seem to do it for me. But I really liked the idea of a stir-fry with pineapples, quinoa, and cashews in it. So I thought about improvements awhile to see what I could come up with.

I ended up, big surprise, going with a sweet and spicy sauce (it is a great compromise, the spiciness pleases me, the sweetness pleases Brett and the combination works great), and I added more veggies and some adzuki beans.

I must say, this was a huge hit! And it was loaded with protein; you got quinoa, cashews, and adzuki beans. Brett and I both loved this and he even came up with an idea for a variation for a fruity breakfast stir-fry. I was impressed, it sounds fantastic, I think we’ll have to make it for a weekend brunch sometime soon to see how it turns out.















Pineapple Quinoa Stir-Fry with Cashews and Adzuki Beans
Serves 4-6 (leftovers = yummy, easy work lunches)

1 cup quinoa
2 cups water

Sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp brown rice vinegar
hot chili oil (to taste)
4 tbsp agave
1" ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tbsp brown sugar
juice of 1/2 a lime
red pepper flakes
cornstarch mixed with water

Stir-Fry Stuff:
4 carrots, peeled, cut into rounds, and boiled
1 cup snap peas, cooked
1 cup broccoli, cooked
1 can organic pineapple pieces
1/2 cup raw organic cashews
1 1/2 cups cooked adzuki beans

Rinse quinoa very well before cooking.

Bring 2 cups water to boil, add quinoa, reduce heat and cook, uncovered until water is absorbed.

While quinoa is cooking, bring a pot of water to a boil, add carrots and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add snap peas and broccoli, cook for a few minutes until all the veggies are soft. Drain.

In a small sauce pan heat water, add garlic and ginger and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients aside from the cornstarch/water mixture.

Once quinoa is cooked, transfer it to a large skillet. Add veggies and beans.

Drain pineapple juice into pan with sauce and add the pineapple chunks to the quinoa, veggies, and beans.

Bring sauce to a boil, add cornstarch/water mixture and stir frequently until desired thickness.

Remove from heat.

Stir in to quinoa mixture and top with cashews.

'Til next time!