Jeff hates all nuts. It’s mainly the texture that bothers him. He wishes that he liked them though, since they’re so portable and snackable and a healthier alternative to chips and crackers.

We’ve spied several brands of spiced nuts at the grocery store that look really tasty and that Jeff thought he might actually enjoy, but they were really expensive for the quantity. He mentioned that he would be willing to try them if I made some at home, so that’s exactly what I decided to do.

I started by adding about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a non-stick pan. I chose to use about 1/4 tsp. each of garlic powder, paprika, and turmeric and just a pinch of cumin and black pepper.

Into the pan they went to heat up with the oil.

1/2 cup each of raw almonds and cashews went into the warming oil.

I used a spatula to toss them in the spice mixture.

When they were fully coated and starting to toast I transferred them to a baking sheet.

I baked them at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes. I wasn’t really trying to brown them anymore at this point, just dry up some of the excess oil.

They came out smelling super toasty and fragrant.

With a hefty sprinkling of salt, they were ready to munch on.

See the cat creeping in the background? He’s nuts for those nuts!

I liked these, they were flavorful without being overwhelming. They have that kind of subtle flavor that makes you eat them continuously in an effort to taste them more.

Jeff won’t try them though, he just turns up his nose.

I think he’s nuts………….::::cricket noise:::::

Sorry, I can’t help myself! 😉

November 13, 2010 Alayna Discussion 8 comments

Good morning!

I got to enjoy my oatmeal today with a humongous dollop of gingery pear and apple sauce!

And it’s a great opportunity for me to share with you my latest oatmeal hack! Remember when I was yapping about how I like to take plain instant oatmeal and jazz it up rather than going through the trouble of making oatmeal from scratch? Well, I’ve discovered that I can make instant oatmeal with real whole oats!

I just fill my bowl with these few things:

• 1 banana torn into pieces
• 2 spoonfuls whole rolled oats
• 1 spoonful oat bran
• 1 spoonful flax meal
• 1 spoonful chia seeds
• almond milk to desired thickness

I mix it up and microwave for about 1 minute and 15 seconds, stirring once halfway through. It really does cook completely and thicken up with the help from the flax, chia, and oat bran.

I had it with a mug of Peachy Oolong tea, a sample we got from Adagio a while back.

Very nice, it doesn’t have that fake syrupy flavor that some fruit teas have.

That’s not all for today though, I’ve got another recipe to share later!

November 13, 2010 Alayna Discussion 1 comment

Thanks for all the sweet and helpful comments on yesterday’s post.  I’m feeling happier and ready to jump back into sharing more delicious vegan recipes with you! I’ll start with this one: gingery pear and apple sauce…

I never really cared for applesauce that much as a kid.  I realize now that it might have had something to do with all the corn syrup and preservatives in store-bought jarred applesauces.  Blech.

I’ve made my own a couple times now and I’ve been very impressed both with how much better it tastes when you make it yourself and with how difficult it is to screw it up! With such a simple process for basic applesauce, I was sure I could toy around with making a fancier sauce pretty easily.

For this slurpable sauce you will need:

• approx. 3 lbs. fruit (I used 4 large pears and 7 teeny tiny apples)
• about a 2-inch piece of ginger
• 1 lemon
• up to a 1/4 cup brown sugar (based on how sweet you want it to be)
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground clove

Start by running a peeler over the apples and pears.

Just look at all those peels! It took some time to get all that fruit naked!

Cut the fruit off the cores and into cubes and toss into the slow cooker. Add the zest and juice of half the lemon then add all your spices and sugar. If you don’t want it too sweet, don’t add the entire 1/4 cup of sugar, you can always add more later but you can’t subtract!

Cut the skin off the ginger and grate finely with a microplane directly into the pot. I used a piece of ginger this size, but of course, if you’re not that into ginger you can use less or none at all.

Toss with a spoon to distribute.

Cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8 until everything is soft and sweet.

I then mashed mine with a potato masher and let it sit on the counter overnight to cool. You don’t have to wait though, you can skip straight to pureeing it while it’s still hot if you want.

Just spoon it into a food processor and blitz it until it’s your desired consistency. I like mine smooth so I blend it for about 10 seconds or so, but if you want it chunky just pulse it a few times.

So sweet and slightly spicy from the ginger. I really reminds me of the wintery flavors of gingerbread.

This is scrumptious on just about anything: yogurt, ice cream, oatmeal, even on a peanut butter sandwich!

And it’s gonna make a ton, so go ahead and do what I did and put half of it in the freezer.

Gingery pear and apple sauce

A unique take on classic applesauce with pear and ginger.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours, 15 minutes

Yield: About 6 cups

Ingredients

• approx. 3 lbs. fruit (I used 4 large pears and 7 small apples)
• a 2 inch piece of ginger
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• up to a 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1 tbsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground clove

Cooking Directions

1. Peel and core fruit and add to slow cooker.
2. Grate over ginger and lemon zest.
3. Add all other ingredients.
4. Cook on high for 6 hours or on low for 8.
5. Either serve as is or puree for 10 seconds in food processor for a smoother texture.

Now all I need to do is try to make my own apple butter! Mmmmmm…..

November 12, 2010 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 5 comments