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Candy Those Nuts!
If .. ‘Ifs and buts’ were candy and nuts…oh, what a party we would have.” –H. Bergh
I love candied nuts. They are salty-sweet and super easy to make. Add them to an ordinary dessert or salad and you’re a rock star! They’re a perfect addition to any holiday menu and can be stored a week or so in an airtight container. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- 1-cup raw pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts
- A generous pinch (about ¼ of a teaspoon) of kosher salt
Method:
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan.
- Add brown sugar and cook while stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the nuts and cook while stirring constantly until the nuts take on a golden color.
- Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to cool. If the nuts are stuck together, use 2 forks to separate.
Here are some ingredients you can add to the nuts while they’re browning to change things up:
- A generous pinch (about ¼ of a teaspoon) of cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- A generous pinch (about ¼ of a teaspoon) of smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
Enjoy your Sunday!
Love,
Becky
Sources & Resources- click on any of the links below for more information!
www.smittenkitchen.com, sweet-and-spiced candied nuts.
www.cafejohnsonia.com, How To Make Candied Nuts.
Suzie The Foodie, Candied Pecans.
Let Them Ponder Cake
So I just finished watching a fabulous TEDx talk by Scott Dinsmore. It’s called How To Find And Do Work That You Love and is worth the 17 minutes and 57 seconds it takes to ingest.
Here’s the skinny- Mr. Dinsmore outlines 3 steps you can take towards a more fulfilling career and life. The first is to identify your unique strengths- Dinsmore asks, “What do you wake up wanting to do, even when you’re not getting paid to do it? What do people thank you for?”
This is where I struggle. Is there any one thing I’m really, really good at? What would I still enjoy doing after the millionth time? When the answer doesn’t slap me in the face, I panic. Maybe I need to hire a shrink, a yogi, a life coach, and a psychic, not in any particular order. Sorting out this mess could take a while.
But then it comes it me- THE CAKE. It was my oldest son’s 17th birthday on Saturday. When your child has flown the coop, a birthday party reaches biblical proportions. If I had a fatted calf, I would’ve butchered it with bells on.
I don’t have a baby cow and I’ve never broken down a side of beef, but what I can do is bake a cake, one with pumpkin and candied pecans and brown butter. Some of the things I know he likes. I can grease and flour my pans, clarify my brown butter, and carefully turn my cakes out so they don’t break. I can dice candied ginger and melt brown sugar and wait patiently for the pecans to become just the right amount of crunchy. I can frost the cake and thoughtfully arrange the pecans on top. I can put it on a pretty cake plate and know I made it special for him.
And that’s what I do. That’s what I am. I cook and bake and feed the people I adore. Every egg salad sandwich, loaf of bread, and pot of lentil soup is a thoughtful expression of my love. It’s something, as my friend Fee says, “I cannot NOT do.”
There’s a start. Is there something you cannot NOT do? Please do share! Now go eat some cake…
Love,
Becky
