Roasted Maple Chai-Spiced Cashews

Thirty minutes before friends were set to arrive, I heated maple syrup in a skillet until it was sticky. I was making this salad from Saveur Magazine. No more than five minutes later, the cashews were candied and slowly disappearing while they cooled. (Who? Me? Steeling cashews from the pan? Never! 😏)

The cashews from that salad reminded me of the honey sesame cashews Trader Joe's sells in it's trail mix section. But better, because maple syrup. All things maple syrup are better, right? 

Those cashews sat in my mind for the next week. My eyes had been opened to something new: homemade maple cashews, and the flavor possibilities were endless. Maple Cayenne Cashews. Maple Cinnamon Cashews. Maple Rosemary? It could work. 

But the flavor profile that really got me excited was Maple Chai (you know how I love all things chai-spice). 

While I did no gifting of these cashews, and we ate most of them while they were still warm, they would also make a pretty little gift. Can you picture a mason jar filled with Maple Chai-Spiced Cashews tied up with a festive bow and a little name tag? Cute! And so sweet, in more ways than one. 

Roasted Maple Chai-Spiced Cashews

Published November 30, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 8   |    Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 cups roasted, unsalted whole cashews 
• 1/4 cup maple syrup 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon salt 
• 1/16 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/16 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/16 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 pinch ground anise
• 1 pinch ground cloves

Directions:

1. Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper or a Silpat (affiliate link!). Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine cardamom, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, anise, and cloves. Stir to combine.
3. Heat maple syrup in a skillet over medium-high heat for about 1-2 minutes, stirring, until it begins to thicken. Reduce heat to medium-low, and add spice mix to syrup, stirring to distribute.
4. Now, add cashews to skillet. Stir using a spatula or wooden spoon until all cashews are coated. Scrape cashews with maple syrup onto lined baking sheet and spread out into a single layer, breaking up large clumps. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes.

Almond Flour Gingerbread Muffins

Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. These are just a few of the things that warm my soul. Gingerbread has always been one of my holiday favorites because of how cozy it is — in flavor and scent. 

Whiffs of molasses and ginger rose from the oven, waking everyone up before the muffins were even finished baking. While they were still hot, we smeared them with butter and sipped our coffee, as if it were Saturday, before hurrying off to work to meet the real world. 

These muffins, delicate and soft, but full of warmth, made it feel like Christmas morning, even in early November. You'll know the feeling when you make these muffins, or these crispy cookies, raw bites, or even this off-beat pumpkin pie. Gingerbread brings a smile to your face. 

Paleo Gingerbread Muffins

Published November 28, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 12   |    Total Time: 60 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 cup canned coconut milk, full fat
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted
• 2 large eggs
• Optional: 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 12 whole pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a muffin pan with muffin liners.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients: almond flour, arrowroot powder, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg. Whisk to remove any clumps.
3. In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients: molasses, maple syrup, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla, melted butter, eggs, and orange zest if using. Whisk until few clumps remain.
4. Add half of the dry mixture to the wet, and stir. Then add remaining dry mixture, and continue to stir until a loose batter forms and few to no clumps remain. Divide batter among muffin liners, filling each about 5/6 of the way full. Top each muffin with a whole pecan.
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a toothpick, when inserted into the middle of a muffin, comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes before serving. Store in air tight container in fridge for up to 1 week.

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Instant Pot Lamb & Winter Squash Tagine with Apricots

After circling campus not once, but twice, before finding a parking spot, I jumped out of the car and half walked, half ran to the ATLAS building--one of my favorite buildings on campus when I was a student. It was probably just my favorite because it hosted a tea shop, but today I didn't have time to wait in line for a cuppa. 

The building was exactly the same but I still felt a bit lost, my years away from campus quickly piling up. When I finally found the basement, rows and rows of stackable chairs were already filled with students. A projector blasted light to a screen in the front, which said, "Kimbal Musk: Real Food For Everyone." 

I found a seat in the back--the only place there was room- and pulled Evernote up on my phone. Is this what it feels like to be a journalist? I wondered. 

When Kimbal emerged on stage there was applause, and he started into his presentation quickly. First, a quick background on his life, then a slide for each of his new ventures, all aiming towards to same goal: make the production of real food (i.e., not industrial food) scalable, so that everyone can be healthier, farmers are supported, and our food is good. 

I jotted down just about everything I heard, as is my note-writing style. Over the last year I have started writing a monthly food trend report at work, which is sent to our clients or whoever else signs up (if you're interested, you could sign up here). 

An hour later I was back on the street. My mind circled on what Kimbal said, the questions students asked, and questions I wished I had time to ask. I thought to myself, If I were a journalist, what would be the lead story here? As a marketer, just pretending to be a journalist for the morning, I was coming up short. I dove head-first into other work hoping an answer would just come to me.  

This tagine is everything you want in a stew on a cold winter day. It is sweet from the squash, and spicy from the blend of spices. Both flavors pair perfectly with lamb. And it's easy to find local lamb, at least in these parts! Head to your farmers market, or ask your grocer if their lamb is local. You can use almost any type of winter squash (I would skip spaghetti squash, but butternut, kabocha, and pumpkin would all work well), so use something from a fall farm stand or better yet, something you grew this summer. The chickpeas are optional (obviously including them would make this dish not Paleo compliant), but I find they add something that would be missing otherwise. Then again, I'm just a sucker for chickpeas.

Instant Pot Lamb & Winter Squash Tagine with Apricots

Published November 9, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound cubed lamb shoulder
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 inches fresh ginger
• 1/2 pound or medium-sized winter squash (I used Red Kuri, but kabocha, or butternut would all work well)
• 1 tablespoon ras el hanout (buy it, or make your own - I used half of this recipe)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2-3 cups beef stock
• 3/4 cup dried apricots
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• Optional: 1 14-ounce can chickpeas (For Paleo, skip these)
• For serving: A few leaves of cilantro
• For serving: Cooked cauliflower rice, rice, quinoa or couscous

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in the bottom of your Instant Pot on the sauté setting. Dice onion, and add to the pot. Sauté until transparent.
2. Add cubed lamb to pot, browning on all sides. Mince garlic and ginger, and add to pot. Stir.
3. Cube the squash: first, cube the squash in half, and remove the seeds. (you can choose if you would like to remove the skin. I leave it on for kabocha and red kuri squash, as it gets quite soft). Dice into 1-inch cubes. Add to the pot, along with the ras el hanout, black pepper, salt, stock, dried apricots, canned tomatoes, and chickpeas, if using. Stir everything until incorporated. Then, secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set to “Stew” setting for 20 minutes.
4. Once 20 minutes is up, release pressure. Serve over cauliflower rice/rice/quinoa/couscous, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve hot.