Honey Roasted Nuts

The honey roasted nut recipe started with a desire to create a recipe for roasted nuts  that would taste like the ones that are in the granola.  These ended up nothing like them, but everybody loves them!  You can use 4 cups of any kind of nuts you prefer.  The most important thing to remember is to make sure the syrup has melted down in between the nuts after the first seven minutes, and the syrup in between the nuts after the second seven minutes is a little darker than at first;  sort of a medium brown/ dark tan color.  If it's the same color it was after the first seven minutes bake one more minute and recheck. Remember to stir in the chilipowder after  it finishes baking!

These are always popular when I’ve taken them places, & joyously received when given as a gift.

Honey roasted nuts

3 T light olive oil
6 T honey
1 T liquid lecithin
½ tsp whole salt
¼ tsp baking soda

1 cup almonds
1 ½ cups pecans
1 ½ cups walnuts

¾ tsp chili powder

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Whisk together oil through soda until turns a lighter creamy color.  Mix in the nuts & spread out onto a large cookie sheet with sides.  Bake 300 degrees for 7 minutes.  Stir up, spread out, & bake another 7 minutes, until the mixture between the nuts is just a little brown.   Set on a cooling rack, sprinkle the chili powder over the top & mix together thoroughly.  Every 5 minutes stir up the nuts until they cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

Please note:  If the mixture has not browned a bit at the end of the cooking time it will not set, if left in even a minute too long may burn.  In a warm humid area these need to be put in the frig as soon as cooled.  In a cool dry area they can be left in a jar on the counter for a week or so.  Be sure to add the chili powder AFTER baking.  For those with a spicy palette, use 1 tsp chili powder.  They may sound a little fussy to make, but once you find the right combination of times for your oven, they are one of the quickest & easiest things to make.

Easy Crunchy Crackers

Don’t be fooled by the short ingredient list.  These crackers are the best, with several variations to please everyone.

Easy Crunchy Crackers

½ cup oat flour
1 cup barley flour (more for rolling out)
¾ cup spelt flour
1 ¼ tsp whole salt

¾ cup warm water
Toasted sesame seeds, cumin seeds, etc.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and set a smooth pizza stone in it to warm up

Blend together the flours and salt.  Stir in water with a fork until it forms a ball.  (Add more barley flour if too sticky)    Gently and slowly knead for 5 minutes.  Cover with a damp towel and let it sit for 10-60 minutes.  It will be a heavy dense dough.   Cut into 4 pieces and place back under the damp towel.  One piece at a time flatten out with floured fingers enough to add ½ tsp seeds.  Fold over and proceed to gently knead the seeds into dough.  Flatten out with floured fingers to about 1/3” thick.  Making sure there is ample flour underneath, roll out to 1/32”-1/16” thickness. (The thinner the crispier)  Lightly sprinkle with salt & roll into dough.  Remove the pizza stone from the oven and carefully slide the dough onto it.  Cut into 1”-2” squares.  (A pizza cutter works nicely.) Bake 7-10 minutes, until crackers are hard to the touch and slightly browned.  Cool completely on cooling rack before storing in an airtight container... if there’s any left.

Options:  Replace all the flour with 2 ½ cups fresh ground rye flour and add 2 tsp caraway or sesame seeds with the dry ingredients.   Replace all the flours with; ¾ cup oat flour, 1 cup barley flour, ½ cup buckwheat flour.  Seeds can be added as stated above, or rolled into the top with the sprinkle of salt.  

Herb Bread

 This is a nice change for sandwiches, & very tasty toasted!

Herb Bread

4 cups lukewarm water
2 T yeast
¼ cup honey
¼ cup granular lecithin
6T xv olive oil
4 tsp whole salt
11-12 cups spelt flour (approx 3#)

4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp rosemary
1 T fresh parsley, chopped fine
¾ tsp oregano
1½ tsp thyme
1½ tsp basil
1 large clove garlic, minced

Oven temp: 375 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix together the water, yeast & honey.  Then stir in the lecithin, oil, salt, & enough flour to make a thick mud.  Stir 100 times slowly. (In the same direction.)  Let it sit for 20 minutes.  Mix in all the herbs, then enough flour to form a ball.  Pour onto a floured surface & knead 8-10 minutes until bounces back when dough is depressed with fingers.   Cover with a warm damp towel for 30-40 minutes until almost doubled in size.  Divide into 4 loaves, gently knead each 10-12 times, & place on oiled baking stone, seams pinched, smooth side down.  Cover with a warm, damp towel for 5-10 minutes until loaves have risen about 25%.  Bake:  375 for 30-35 minutes until bottom of loaf is lower pitched than the outside edge.  Cool completely on cooling rack.

Option:  Leave dried & fresh garlic & parsley the same, but replace dried herbs with ½ cup packed fresh herbs.  (Basic rule of thumb; 1tsp dry=1T fresh.)

Cranberry Bars

The distinct flavor of the cranberries mixed with the oats make a wonderful treat!

Cranberry Bars

Cranberry filling *
¾ cup water
1 cup pure maple syrup
5 cups fresh cranberries

*make a day in advance

Mix water, syrup and cranberries in a medium saucepan on approximately medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Gently simmer for10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally or every couple of minutes. Mixture will thicken and begin to set.

Allow to cool at room temperature, cover & place in the frig.

Crust
1½ c. spelt flour
1/4 c. maple sugar
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. whole salt
1 ½ c. quick oats
¼ tsp arrowroot powder

¼ cup warm honey
2/3 cup light olive oil

½ c. chopped pecans

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and oats in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk together honey and olive oil.

Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and combine with a pastry cutter. This will yield a crumbly consistency.

Reserve 1 cup of the above mixture, stir in chopped pecans and set aside.

Press the remainder of the mixture into an oiled 13”x9” baking dish.

Bake: 350 for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour 1 ¾- 2 cups chilled cranberry filling evenly over dough.

Sprinkle the reserved crumble/ pecan mixture over the top of the cranberry filling.

Lightly press crumble into the filling with a fork. Take care not to burn your fingers on the hot dish!

Bake dish an additional 20-25 minutes until it has set and the edges are lightly browned.

Remove dish from oven and allow it to completely cool.

As with all baked goods; once cool, cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap or foil.

Eat within 24 hours or refrigerate or freeze.

Options: Replace maple sugar with raw sugar.  Replace honey with maple sugar or raw sugar, but the base layer won’t hold together quite as well.  If a glass baking dish is used, raise the oven rack one up from center.  The cranberry sauce will keep for 2-3 weeks in the back of a 35 degree frig, & also freezes well.  

Coriander Lentil Soup

Even those who aren’t big soup fans love this one! 

Coriander Lentil Soup

2 ½ T xv olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped (1-1 ¼ cups)
2 large cloves garlic, chopped fine (2 T)
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
1 large carrot, diced (1 cup)
3 stalks celery, diced (1 ½ cup)

4 cups fresh or canned tomatoes, coarsely chopped
8 cups water
4 cubes veggie bouillon
3 cups red lentils
1 tsp basil
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp cayenne powder
2 T fresh parsley, chopped fine

Sauté first 7 ingredients on low, adding in order listed. Stir constantly until half cooked.  Stir in remaining ingredients, excluding parsley.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for 1-1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally until lentils are soft & veggies tender.  Stir in parsley & adjust seasonings.  For a large crowd, double the recipe.

Options:  Replace red lentils with brown or green lentils.   Just as good, but quite a difference in taste!

A Little About Me

The important and fun things in my life (in no order).

Being outdoors is my favorite place to be.  Fresh air, taking the time to observe all that is around.  I'm just starting to learn about all the wild foods around us that are not just edible but very tasty.  For example, the pigweed that grew up in our poorly weeded garden this year was delicious!  More on forage foods another time.

Getting regular exercise (including stretching).  30-60 minutes a day is ideal.  The mental and physical benefits far outweigh the time put in; with more energy, tasks getting done more efficiently, and when doing tasks outside I am working my muscles not straining them, reducing the chance of getting hurt.  When this falls out of the schedule occasionally, there's no sense moaning about it- plug it back in and move on! 

I like rocks.  The ones with the soil on them, of course!  Since as far back as I can remember I have been picking up and dragging home everything from tiny tiny fossils smaller than 1/4", to huge rocks over 100 pounds. Ok, the 100 pounders with my daughter's help, or my son just picking it up on his own.  Bless their hearts, they don't mind going rock hunting with me occasionally!

Organically growing as much of our food as possible is important to me.  So far we have a veggie garden, berry bushes, fruit trees, an asparagus patch, and there are a couple walnut tree saplings planted in pots in the herb garden awaiting their new home in the lawn next spring.  Bartering or gleaning in other peoples yards for nuts, fruit, or berries we don't grow is another way to acquire organic food.  With permission of course! 

Sharing the food we grow and make with others.  There is something about sharing with others that just warms the heart and brightens up any day.  Sharing baked goods probably happens the most, which I'm sure contributed to my children calling our kitchen the 'stone hill bakery.'  Sharing other people's over abundance is fun too;  my dear friend Terri lets me pick bushels of apples each year which then are given away to alot of different families and local homeless shelters.

I love my family.  My husband and I  are blessed with two beautiful children, inside and out, who make it all worthwhile!

First and foremost, I love God.  All three co-equal parts of God.  I am thankful a part of Him stepped out of eternity and into our 3 dimensional world for 33 years to walk with us, teach us, and provide us with a path back to Him if we choose to.  I am thankful Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to help us, and be with us with every breath we take, when we choose to accept God's gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus.  God has also provided us with Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.  (B.I.B.L.E.) Reading some of the word of God each day has enriched my life.  One of my favorites is Esther: among other good things she prayed to know when to open her mouth and when to close it.  Always a good thing to know.  Another is Matthew: which reminds us how God comes along side people with some pretty heavy baggage and turns their life around for the better.  He still loves doing that today too, when asked!

Coconut Bars

 These are simply great!  Light, sweet, & very quick to make.

Coconut Bars

Syrup:
¾ tsp xv coconut oil
¾ tsp liquid lecithin
1 ½ T tahini
2 T honey
2 T maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla

Dry mix options:
Option 1:
2 ½ cups dry, unsweetened coconut flakes
2/3 cup almonds, chopped fine
2 ½ T sesame seeds, brown unhulled
Option 2:
2 cups dry, unsweetened coconut flakes
¾ cup almonds, chopped fine
Option 3:
2 cups dry, unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup almonds, chopped fine
2 T sesame seeds, brown unhulled

Instructions:

Mix together the dry ingredients option of your choice & set aside.  Heat a thick bottom, nonstick 12” fry pan on low.  Drop the syrup ingredients into the pan in the order listed.   Raise the temp to med/high stirring constantly.  Once it begins to softly bubble, stir another minute. (If it starts to darken, the temp is too high.)  Sprinkle the dry ingredients evenly over syrup.  Stir and fold together for 3-5 minutes until well incorporated, no longer clumpy, & just slightly browned in some spots. Immediately pour into an 8”x8” baking dish lined with parchment paper.  With a second piece of paper press down very firmly, then cool until slightly warm.  With a pastry cutter cut straight down, into 2” squares.  Cool completely before storing in an airtight container.  (For a crispier bar reduce the tahini to 1 tsp & allow to brown just a tiny bit more.)