Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Nutty-ness

I'm sitting in a big overstuffed chair in the living room beside our glistening tree, warming myself by a crackling fire in the fireplace while Christmas songs play softly in the background. The dogs are curled up beside me, seriously cramping my leg space on the ottoman.

Matt walks in to bring me some cookies from the kitchen. He sits down and stretches his hands toward the fire to warm them....

...then looks at me with his head cocked to the side and laughs, "What in the world are you doing? Is this the 'Christmas Yule Log' video on Netflix?" 

Okay, so perhaps I'm a little nutty for "warming" my toes by my TV. But does it really feel like Christmas if you haven't yet had a chance to sit by a crackling fire? I say that it simply does not. So if the only fire I can get is one I've streamed through Netflix, by golly I'll take it! Ahhhh my toes feel warmer already!

With all the craziness of getting ready for Christmas, I totally forgot to give you the recipe for the almonds I made for Thanksgiving. They were a big hit with the fam! My uncle from Colorado asked if he could take the rest of them with him for a road snack so I'm thinking that's a good sign. He also said that the way they had been roasted gave them "kind of a really nice smokey flavor." That totally cracked me up! Remember?

Here's the recipe:
2 C. whole almonds (skins on)
1/4 C. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Honey
2 Tbsp. Water
2 tsp. Oil

Spread the almonds in a single layer on a cookie sheet or in a cake pan and place into a COLD oven. Bake on 350 for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and set aside.



Thoroughly mix sugar and salt in a small bowl. Stir together the honey, water, and oil in a medium size pan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir in the almonds and continue to cook and stir until all the liquid is absorbed by the almonds (about 5 minutes). Immediately transfer to a large bowl and sprinkle with the sugar/salt mixture, then spread on wax paper to cool.



Mmm...that's making me hungry.

But if you'll excuse me, I need to go add another log onto my fire. (er....you know, press replay)

Merry Christmas!

~SMurph~

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