Roasted spicy nuts

My lapse in posting is being lifted by my need to save this Ottolenghi recipe!! These are delicious, and seem perfect for holiday gifting or snacking. The honey in there is very subtle, they don't taste sweet. The nigella seeds (aka black cumin seeds) and rosemary combo, with the heat from the cayenne, is delicious. Nigella seeds have lots of medicinal properties, good for treating inflammation and lung stuff, so are an extra bonus. I wonder about even adding a little turmeric too, which I'll try next time. 

*I actually was out of cayenne, so I used Ethiopian mitmita spice, which was great.

Ingredients

• 100g cashew nuts
• 100g macadamia nuts
• 120g pecan nuts
• 60g whole almonds (skin on)
• 80g pumpkin seeds
• 1 tbsp sunflower seeds
• 2 tbsp nigella seeds 
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil (I used avocado oil)
  
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
• 2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 2 tsp cayenne

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Scatter all the ingredients except the pepper and cayenne in a roasting tray. Roast for 15-17 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the nuts turn dark brown. Remove, stir in the pepper and cayenne, and taste. Add salt if you like. Leave to cool in the tray, stirring from time to time. Once cool, transfer to an air-tight container.
   

Paleo Granola

Peaches, granola, and coconut milk!

This summer brought my first attempt at paleo granola - I just love fresh berries or fruit with granola on top, and I hadn't had anything like in a couple of years. So when I got a bounty of juneberries from my neighbor's tree this year (she went out of town right at peak juneberry time), it inspired some granola making. I tried a few recipes, including one from the 21 Day Sugar Detox lady that was sweetened only with a not-yet-ripe banana. I liked that one, but found I preferred a moderately (as in not-very-sweet) honey-sweetened version better. The "banola" recipe was also a little chewy, and I wanted crunchier granola.

The basic concept of paleo granola is pretty simple: combine nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, some fat and sweetener and bake. Some folks use an egg or egg white to help with the crunch, and I preferred that in my two comparison recipes. The one with egg white was a little drier and more crisp in the end product, but also a little bit less clumpy. The nuts are also interchangable for whatever you have handy.

Paleo Granola
1 c. almonds
1 c. cashews
1 c. pecans
1 c. unsweetened coconut flakes
1 c. pepitas
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1 egg white
1 T water
1/4 - 1/3 c. honey*
1/4 c. coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon (opt)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 - 1 c. raisins or dried fruit

*I use 1/4 c plus 6 drops stevia

1. Put nuts and coconut flakes in food processor and pulse/process until chopped up so there are still some good size pieces - some of it will be pretty chopped, just stop before the whole thing turns to a nut flour consistency.
2. Empty nuts and coconut into large bowl, and add pepitas and sunflower seeds.
3. In smaller bowl, whisk egg white and water. Add honey/stevia, coconut oil, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. I needed to heat my honey/coconut oil so they would be liquid.
4. Stir wet ingredients into nut and seed mix and coat. It will look fairly wet and be a bit clumpy.
5. Spread granola onto a cookie sheet or baking pan. Bake at 300 degrees for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Take the granola out when the mix is nicely browned. Add your raisins and and let sit for another 15-20 minutes to cool and harden.
6. Spoon into a bowl, top with some fruit and/or coconut milk, and eat! This stores well in a sealed jar (wait til it's all the way cooled first). I had no problem storing it for a couple of weeks, and it could likely go longer.

This is the 21DSD "banola" for comparison: more clumpy, less crisp. Still delicious though.

Paleo Snack Mix

I got inspired by a post from The Clothes Make the Girl blog to make her snack mix for my mini-vacation up north last week. And, wow. It is very delicious, and like no taste combo I would have ever come up with (it's based on an Indonesian condiment). I had to restrain myself from consuming the entire batch while it was cooling. My Charming Companion and I made bets as to how long the snack mix would last once we got in the car: 20 minutes, an hour...?

Anyway - I pasted her recipe below. I will note that I have been consuming more nuts than usual over the recent holiday time (as nuts themselves, but also as almond flour in baking). I primarily eat macadamia nuts due to their 1:1 balance of omega 3 and 6 and generally regard other nuts/flours as more occasional things. I am doing some "cold training" right now (cold baths) though, and one of the effects is that you get hives if you have too much omega 6. I recently had some hive-like spots, which made me want to lay off the nut feast of late. And have some fish oil. I don't notice any other physical effects of this - but as someone who gets intense inflammation from a crumb of gluten, I feel extra cautious. So. Moderation for me with the nuts. (The mini hives appeared right before departing for said trip, which I think contributed to the snack mix making it all the way til day 3 - far longer than the earlier estimated consumption time!) 

Savory Paleo Granola - makes 1 1/2 cups
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 medium onion, very finely diced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup dry-roasted almonds
1/3 cup dry-roasted cashews

1. Preheat oven to 300F and cover a large baking sheet/cake pan with parchment paper.
2. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat until melted, then add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook 2-3 minutes until the onions begin to soften and are fragrant.
3. In a small bowl, mix the cumin, coriander, salt, and turmeric. Add to the onions, stir to combine, and cook an additional 5-7 minutes until the onions are very soft. Add the lemon juice and cook until the mixture forms a paste, about 2 minutes.
4. Add the coconut chips to the pan and stir until they’re coated with the onions and spices. Transfer to the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Stir with a wooden spoon and add the nuts to the baking pan (the mixture will already be fairly dark here - that is good!) Roast an additional 10-15 minutes until the coconut/onion flakes are very brown and the nuts are toasted.
5. Allow to cool completely, then mix together and store in an air-tight container. Eat as-is or chop in a food processor until it’s the texture of coarse sand and use as a flavoring condiment on cooked vegetables, meats, soups, and salads.

Carrot Cashew Soup

I have been on the hunt for a new soup recipe that will help me use some of the chicken stock I have been accumulating lately.  I stumbled upon this carrot cashew soup recipe today and decided to give it a try.  I am huge fan of cashews because they are so creamy when pureed and make a great dairy substitute.  The recipe author says she loved this soup so much that she wanted to drink it with a straw, and I have to agree.  I haven't had very many carrot soups, but this one is really good.

I had a hard time deciding how many carrots to use.  The recipe calls for 1 lb. but when I had them peeled it just didn't look like very many carrots, so I did 2 lbs.  It turned out to be a good choice because 1 1/2 cups of cashews is a lot and I needed more carrots and stock in order to off-set them.  If you want to use 1 lb. of carrots I would recommend doing only 3/4 cup of cashews.  I think this is a good way to go because I ended up making a huge batch of soup.  Although, I put a lot of it in the freezer and will be able to pop it out for heat ups, which is super awesome.

I found the recipe here.  The recipe includes roasting the carrots, onion, and garlic, which I think is one of the main secrets to the tastiness of the recipe (that and the cashews).  It took extra time and effort, but I think it was well worth it.