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.

Green Chile Smother Sauce

This green chile smother sauce was created for a good friend after we went to a Mexican restaurant and fell in love with their smother sauce. The Mexican restaurant is a little hole in the wall across the street from the DMV. You wouldn’t think much of that little restaurant if you were just driving by, but those that know it love it. The burritos come stuffed full of ingredients, making them bigger than anyone person could ever really need. And key to this story, each burrito gets coated in smother sauce.

What is smother sauce, you ask? Well, it’s a sauce, for smothering. But it can be used in a kajillion ways (I’ll share some ideas later in this post). Mostly, it’s a spicy sauce that you can pour over burritos, tacos, eggs—really anything. 

This green chili sauce is really similar to what you would use in my Pork Chile Verde. It is the sauce to smother every burrito, tamale, and taco with. Basically, it is everything. Still need ideas for how to use it? 

• Green enchilada sauce (do you have leftover turkey still? Enchiladas are the answer)

• Green eggs in purgatory

• A hot sauce for your breakfast (fried eggs or omellete)

• Serve as a salsa

• Slow Cooker Pork Chile Verde (use this sauce in place of the tomatillo, onion, garlic blend that the recipe calls for: they are pretty much the same thing)

• A starter for guacamole

• A smother sauce for burritos

...just to name a few.

Green Chile Smother Sauce

Published November 21, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 8 medium sized tomatillos
• 4 cloves garlic 
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon avocado oil
• 2 cans hatch green chiles (I use the hot ones, but feel free to use mild if you prefer)
• 1/2 cup cilantro 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Juice of 1 lime 
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

Directions:

1. Preheat your over to 475°F. Peel the papery outer skins from the tomatillos, wash them, and slice them in half. Cut the onion into 4 to 6 large wedges. Arrange them all on a sheet pan along with the garlic cloves. Brush with 1 tablespoon avocado oil, and place in oven. Roast until the tops of the tomatillos are browned, 10-15 minutes.
2. Add roasted tomatillos, onions, and garlic to a blender along with canned green chiles, cilantro, lime, spices (cumin, coriander, oregano, and optional cayenne), salt, and pepper. Puree. Mixture should be similar to a less chunky salsa.
3. Store sauce in jars until ready to use. Stays good in fridge for 1 week.

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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