Cocoa Chai Spice Roasted Almonds

Guess what?! My horses finally made it home to Texas. A three day trailer ride with a layover in Missouri got Angel and Halo down from Iowa in one piece (or, two pieces actually, each made up of a gazillion other pieces). I am so glad to have them close by again. I am far too neurotic to leave my pets that many miles away for very long.

For the first time since July, I got to rub horse noses and scratch horse ears, and hear that endearing little sound that Angel makes when she knows I have food for her*. It was so cute. Even though she had a huge hive of dried cockleburs hanging near her right ear. The rest of her mane was twisted into little black spirals and dredlock tangles... it was not cute. Halo had a few minor mane issues, too, but she has naturally beautiful princess cow pony hair (it's true -- just ask the little girls at Stagecoach Stables), so hers wasn't as bad after a few months of neglect.

Anyway, brushing a knotted labyrinth of horse hair is a fitting punishment for leaving them in Iowa without me for the last three months.  After a couple of days in segregation from the crowd, they were turned out with the rest of the Texas herd today on 65 acres of green grass and seem to be settling in nicely. GBT**.

Now lets talk about these almonds. Aside from horsing around, weekends are also for cooking (and taking pictures because I am home when there is sunlight and windows and time). I'd been eyeballing these Chocolate Chai Roasted Almonds from The Simple Veganista for quite a while***. I even bought an extra pound of raw almonds on my last trip to Trader Joe's****. As soon as I was in a functional-enough kitchen to do some testing down here, these made their debut. Here goes.

I followed the original recipe almost to the letter, but would definitely recommend backing off on the roasting time, as suggested in my version below. Obviously the time to roast will depend on your oven, so feel free to test them halfway and again at 15 minutes to ensure they do not burn. The almonds will be a little sticky at half time, but will be dry once completely cooked and cooled. And don't worry if they stick in clumps -- they will be very easy to break apart.

Cocoa Chai Spice

Roasted Almonds

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 17 min

Yield 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups raw almonds

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla extract, optional

1 heaping teaspoon cocoa powder

1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon

1 heaping teaspoon cardamom

1 heaping teaspoon ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper (I used white pepper)

a few pinches of mineral salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients until the almonds are well coated.

3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread almonds into a single layer.

4. Bake for 17-20 minutes, shuffling once in the middle.

5. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to two months.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving):

Calories 226, Total Fat 17 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium: 14 mg, Protein 7.6 g, Fiber 4.7 g

These things were so easy, but (alas) they are all gone now. SO.. I am looking for my next roasted almond recipe to try! If you have any suggestions, let me know in the comments!

* Everyone should be greeted in that way. It'll warm your heart, really. That is why she is my favorite.
** God Bless Texas.
*** I have also also made her Glazed Vegan Lentil Loaf. That recipe has been one of the most popular pages on this blog.... if you are interested. :)
****Dear Trader Joe: PLEASE PLEASE come to College Station. I'll pay you. Love, L.
*****Sorry for the excessive number of footnotes.

Chocolate Chip Patty Pan Bread

This week at work has been so busy! I wish I could say that a daily slice of this no-oil chocolate squash bread was my single indulgence to get me through, but...

let's talk about something else.

Patty pan squash.

I only used about a quarter of the squash in the ratatouille from last week and have brainstormed / Googled other ways to use it up (especially because I got another one in the most recent CSA delivery). One of the recipes I found was from The Harmonious Kitchen. I switched it up a bit by replacing oil with applesauce, reducing the sugar, using 50:50 whole wheat:white flour, and increasing the squash. The end result was a just-sweet-enough, chocolate-chips-in-every-bite, soft and awesome bread.

I made this last weekend when J was in town visiting and we had our first, tentative bites after a 5 mile run, which included an unplanned detour through Wiener Fest*. That's a festival of wiener dogs, in case you were wondering. In fact, a part of me wishes I had a wiener dog just so I could enter it into the races. They actually have a race for "wannabe wieners" that Newton would have qualified for, but let's be honest: watching dachshunds** run is much more entertaining than watching dogs with normal sized legs run.

And look what else we saw:

Isn't this thing so cool??! I think this was part of a "coolest dog house" competition or something, but I haven't done the research to see what exactly was going on. A bunch of really awesome doggie houses were all lined up along the sidewalk here, but this one really stood out. Amazing!

Here is your reference, non-Texas people: Gruene Hall is the most famous dance hall in the central lone star state that plays host to some of the best country music in the entire world (a la REK).

Between J's visit, randomly running (literally) into Wiener Fest at the park, seeing this dog house, and visiting with an old friend (well, she used to be my boss back in the day, but it's been a while...so we can be friends now, I think), last weekend was pretty great. And then the chocolate bread actually turned out pretty great, too, so luckily that just added to the overall greatness.

Chocolate Chip 
Patty Pan Bread

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 25 to 65 min (muffins vs loaf)

Yield about 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

3 eggs

¼ cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar, packed

¾ cup whole wheat flour

¾ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup cocoa powder

2 Tablespoons baking powder

2-2 ½ cups grated patty pan squash

1 cup chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of a 9 x 5” loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. Alternatively, grease a muffin tin (about 18 cups).

2. In a large bowl, mix wet ingredients (applesauce, eggs, and yogurt) and both sugars.  

3. Sift in the dry ingredients (both flours, cocoa, and baking powder). Mix until just combined.

4. Fold in the squash and the chocolate chips.

5. Spoon batter into the loaf pan or muffin tins.

6. Bake the loaf for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If making muffins, bake for about 25 minutes.

7. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then run a butter knife around the edges (if necessary) and move the bread to a cooling rack.

NUTRITION INFORMATION (per serving):

Calories 232, Total Fat 6.2 g, Cholesterol 46 mg, Sodium: 266 mg, Protein 5.2 g, Fiber 3.1 g

Ordinarily, I'm all about substituting and using the things I actually have around the house, if at all possible. But, the chef's note on the original recipe warns against substituting other types of squash for the patty pan because of different water content.

I chose to fill a 6 muffin tin and then put the rest in a loaf pan. That made my own "servings" count a little weird. But the muffins will bake up much more quickly than the loaf, which is perfect for an impatient someone like me.

Do you see the colorful flowers in the periphery of those pictures? Those were from J -- his contribution to (me and) this recipe, making my photos look a little prettier.

*After writing this entire paragraph about Wiener Fest, I realized that I spelled wiener incorrectly. All of the wieners were wrong.
**This is officially the most I have ever used the word wiener. Ever. In a post that was supposed to primarily be about chocolate, even. 

Fact and Theory.

Daylight savings is a conspiracy. 

That's right. I said it. 

What's worse is that this trickery is perpetrated by golfers! (and retailers; and the candy industry (!!) - I heard it on NPR, so I know it's true.) Did you realize that we spend more time abiding by "daylight savings time" than we spend in standard time?!

Nevertheless, at this end of the year, daylight savings actually means that we get to "spring" forward. Did you hear that? SPRING. After this (utterly miserable) Midwest winter filled with subzero temperatures and arctic wind, I am ready for anything that even hints at warmer weather (that is: ANY. OTHER. SEASON). 

Daylight savings time aside, one thing that always reminds me of warmer weather is Texas (duh). And... Speaking of Texas, Jason bought us second row tickets to see Robert Earl Keen last Thursday night. During my misspent youth undergraduate years in College Station, I had the pleasure of seeing REK in concert a few times. I am here to tell you that last Thursday night's concert was not like those times. For one, those Texas concerts were held in far less sophisticated venues than this one. (Hoyt Sherman Place is richly decorated little theater in Des Moines with plush red seats and a relatively sober tame crowd.) Second, there was no two-steppin in front of the stage. And there was nobody offering the band an armful of red solo cups filled to the brim with Lonestar.  But it was a really good time for Jason's intro to live Texas country music and a much, much appreciated (if only bite-sized) dose of home for me. Robert put on a good show and I left happy. 

Wait. 

Did you see what I saw?

\

Cute.  While it is unclear whether both of the miscreants were in on the photobomb, I consider them equally at fault. And to you, photobombers, what was your motive here? Did you wish to be forever embroidered into my life via this one anonymous shot? Well, you're in luck because.... 

I am...

a blogger.

Yep (and just when you think you know a person, too). I won't call myself a writer, because I think maybe that term is reserved for those much more talented (or persistent) than I.

My current blog title (sugar is smoking) is stolen from the poem highlighted in the sidebar. Read it.

I know, poetry. Right? But it's short. And accurate to the letter. 

Why am I here?
Quite plainly, I choose to write for you. I want to reach out to those who might give a damn despite the deadlines and miles between us. I write to share my life with you in some way apart from missed calls and Facebook. Oh, but don't be fooled - I also choose to write for myself. As it turns out, words are a healing liquidation of thought in a sometimes baffling world -

- and I am an open book.

Welcome to my diary of life and little pleasures.