All! Hello!

It’s literally been YEARS since I posted on the blog. I’ve been in a writing funk; work was so busy that I lost sight of many of the things of I enjoy, including cooking on a regular basis. This morning I decided that there was no time like the present to refocus, so I’m making a goal to try to post at least once a week (we’ll see how it goes). I’ve had success with some other recent goals that I set (in January, I started posting a daily bookish photo on my Instagram page to help get my focus back on reading – you can follow me here, if you’re so inclined: MoxeeSocks.) For now, though, I’ve started cooking again, and it feels good.

For the last year or so, I’ve been seeing a nutritionist and trying to keep my health in check. It turns out I have a few food sensitivities I haven’t always been aware of, so I’ve had to make some changes. I don’t know if my diet falls into any one “category”, but generally I’m eating gluten-free and trying to minimize my consumption of grains. BUT, I do still occasionally indulge in rice and some legumes, particularly when cooking Indian or African meals. And, when I’m craving toast or a comforting and oozy grilled cheese, I enjoy a good grain-based gluten free bread (although I do have a pretty good recipe for a Paleo cashew-based bread as well) 🙂

What else? I’ve realized that I LOVE using a wide variety of spices on my food. My adoration of spices has almost become an obsession – when I travel to various international markets around Tucson, my husband tells me that we’re going on a spice expedition. He’s not kidding. In alignment with theme of “spice”, I present to you these deliciously fragrant curried nuts, inspired by the “Savory Curried Nuts” recipe from The Curry Book by Nancie McDermott. Basically, I replaced vegetable oil with coconut oil, and added a bit of sugar and cayenne pepper (for a sweet and spicy kick).

Spicy & Sweet Curried Nuts

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 Tsp Black Mustard Seeds (commonly available at Indian markets)
• 1.5 Cups Cashews
• 1.5 Cups Pecans
• 1 Tsp Yellow Curry Powder
• 1/2 Tsp Cayenne Powder
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 1 Tbps Sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Wrap a large baking sheet in foil.
• In a large, heavy saucepan or dutch oven, combine the oil, cumin, and mustard and saute over medium heat until the spices start to pop, 1-3 minutes. Stir while seeds begin to pop, another minute.
• Add the nuts, cayenne pepper, and curry powder and stir well. Cook 3 minutes to heat the nuts through. Add the soy sauce and sugar – remove from heat.
• Transfer the nuts to the baking sheet and spread out in a single layer. Roast the nuts for about 10 minutes.
• Set aside to cool for about 30 minutes, and then transfer them to a jar to store them. They can be stored at room temperature for about 2 weeks 🙂