Roasted Almonds

 From:  An Oregon Cottage

Ingredients

• 4½ cups raw, whole almonds
• 1½ tablespoons HOT water
• 1½ teaspoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt to taste

Instructions

• Heat oven to 375 degrees and line a large baking sheet with silicone or parchment.* Place the raw almonds in a large metal or ceramic mixing bowl (we'll be adding the hot nuts back into it, so don't use plastic).
• Stir 1½ teaspoon of salt into the hot water until mostly dissolved (it hardly ever completely dissolves for me - it's okay if it doesn't), pour over the nuts in the bowl and mix until all are coated.
• Transfer to prepared baking sheet, spreading the nuts in a single layer.
• Bake for about 8 minutes, stir well and spread back into a single layer. Bake for 6-8 minutes more, depending on how your oven cooks (Ours are usually perfect at about 15 minutes total, but your oven may vary, so may take 5-10 minutes longer). To test doneness, the nuts should be nicely browned, inside and out (you can cut one open to see if it's browned inside). Keep an eye on them, this is when they can burn quickly - but you don't want them undercooked either or they won't be crisp (once you've made them, the timing is easier).
• When they are done baking, put the hot nuts back into the large bowl and pour the olive oil over them. Toss well until all the nuts are coated, shaking on sea salt as you go. You can taste one, but they're very hot, so be careful (I usually just like to see a bit of salt on the outsides and that seems to be enough with the original salt-water coating).
• Leave the nuts to cool in the bowl, or spread out on the pan again if you need them to cool more quickly. The nuts will soak up the oil as they cool.**
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

CUCUMBER TOMATO SALAD WITH FETA

 From: Bowl of Delicious

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar or honey
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup red onion quartered and thinly sliced (about 1 small onion)
• 2 cucumbers medium sized
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 4 oz. feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped, or other herbs such as dill, chives, or cilantro
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

• In a small bowl, mix together the red wine vinegar (2 tablespoons), sugar (1 teaspoon), kosher salt (1/2 teaspoon), and black pepper (1/4 teaspoon). Add the sliced red onions and stir to coat. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes, stirring once or twice.
• While you let the onions sit: cut the ends off the cucumber, slice in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Discard the seeds and slice the cucumber thinly, about 1/4" thick. Add to a large bowl. (And if you prefer, you can peel the cucumber before cutting it.)
• Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and add to the large bowl as well.
• If your feta cheese isn't already crumbled, use a fork to crumble it and add it to the large bowl.
• Drizzle the olive oil (1/4 cup) into the small bowl with the onions, add the chopped fresh parsley (2 tablespoons) or other herbs, and mix together.
• Pour the onion mixture into the large bowl with the remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Serve immediately for best results.

Quinoa Salad With Roasted Squash, Dried Cranberries, and Pecans

 From: Delish

Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

1 c. quinoa

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 medium Delicata squash, seeded and thinly sliced into half moons

1 bunch Tuscan kale, thinly sliced and stems removed

1/3 c. pecans, toasted

1/3 c. dried cranberries

1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/3 c. crumbled feta

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425° and cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and season with salt and pepper. Spread out on a sheet tray to cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, arrange squash on a baking sheet and roast until tender and golden, 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
4. In a large bowl, toss together quinoa, squash, kale, pecans, and cranberries. In a small bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Drizzle over salad and toss gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper, crumble feta on top, and serve.

Easy Salted Oat Fudge

 

Easy Salted Oat Fudge

• Author: Cookie and Kate
 
• Prep Time: 10 mins
 
• Total Time: 20 minutes
 
• Yield: About 36 small squares of fudge

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup creamy unsalted almond butter 
• ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cups old-fashioned oats ground into flour, see step 1

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prep work: Cut two strips of parchment paper to fit across the interior of an 8 to 9-inch square baker. Criss-cross the papers at the bottom of the baker and fold the ends up the sides of the baker. If you need to make your own oat flour, blend 1 and ¾ cups oats in a blender or food processor until ground into a fine flour.
2. Make the fudge: In a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot, combine the nut butter, chocolate chips, sweetener, and oil. Warm the pot over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture is melted throughout. Remove the pot from heat.
3. Stir the vanilla extract into the pot, followed by the oat flour. The mixture will have thickened up at this point, so you might have to put some muscle into it to mix in those pecans. You can do it!
4. Carefully dump the fudge mixture into your lined square baker. Use the back of a sturdy mixing spoon to push the mixture across the baker so it’s roughly evenly distributed. Cover the bottom side of a thick, heavy-bottomed drinking glass or mason jar with parchment paper and press it down on the fudge repeatedly until the fudge is evenly packed. If you’re finishing the fudge with flaky sea salt, lightly sprinkle some on top now and gently press it into place with the bottom of your parchment-covered glass.
5. Cover and freeze the fudge for 30 to 45 minutes, until it’s firm to the touch and no longer shiny in the middle. If you’re not in a hurry, you can refrigerate the fudge for a couple of hours or longer.
6. Use a chef’s knife to slice the fudge into 1 ¼-inch wide columns and rows. Fudge will keep well for a couple of days at room temperature, or for a few weeks in the freezer, sealed in an air-tight freezer bag.

White Bean Puree

 White Bean Puree

Time:  25 min

Serves: 4

From: Robert Wiedmaier

Ingredients

3 T Olive Oil

1 small onion, finely diced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 thyme sprig

2 15 oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 C low sodium chicken broth

Directions:

1.  In a medium sauce pan add the olive oil, onion, garlic, and thyme sprig.  Cook over moderate heat, stirring a few times until the onion is softened, about 7 minutes.

2.  Add the beans and broth and simmer over moderately high heat until the broth is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

3.  Discard the thyme sprig.

4.  Puree the bean mixture in a blender.  Season the puree with salt and pepper.

5.  Serve hot.

Can be kept in refrigerator for 3 days.