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.

White Wine Cream Sauce Chicken & Thyme

In France we saw endless fields of lavender, ornately designed royal gardens, and vending machines stocked by local farmers with the crop of the day. In France, we missed lunch almost every afternoon because in Bourgueil, shops close up after 2 and if you're just strolling into town for a bite to eat, you're fresh out of luck. 

We saw at least one Château a day, traveled almost exclusively by bike, and learned that a map really does you no good when roads have no signs or names. It flooded, and we drank plenty of wine.

In France, we cooked coq au vin in our little apartment, when all of the restaurants were closed. We tried to eat like the French, even when we couldn't figure out their schedule! 

It's almost impossible to tell which parts of this dish are inspired by French cooking and which are just habits learned from my mom. This coq au vin-inspired dish has home cooking written all over it:

• It starts with shallots: French shallots are French, aren't they?! Despite the fact that my mom virtually always has a shallot or two laying around, cooking with them always just feels a bit fancier to me than cooking with onions

• After you sauté the shallots, pour on the wine (in this case, white). It sizzles and pops, and in true chef fashion you should probably take a sip or two from the bottle between stirs. Get a French wine if you want to feel extra French

• Stir in the cream, and watch the sauce go from brothy to rich and creamy. Many a person has added cream to sauce... but is it very French? Maybe, or maybe not. But who cares! It's cream! And it tastes amazing. Just do it.

• Finish with thyme, fresh and herbaceous. Any even if your thyme wasn't grown in France, you can pretend it was. Top off you glass of wine before you sit down to eat.

White Wine Cream Sauce Chicken & Thyme

Published October 12, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken breast 
• 1 shallot
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3/4 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (for dairy-free, try canned full-fat coconut milk)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 springs fresh thyme
• Optional: 1 cup fresh baby spinach

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts to the pan, and brown on each side until golden (about 5 minutes each side). Move chicken to a plate and set aside.
3. Dice the shallot, and add to the pan. Sauté until soft. Add the garlic. Sauté for another minute. Pour wine into pan, and scrape bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to deglaze.
4. Pour cream into pan, and stir gently until incorporated. Add spinach, and stir in until wilted.
5. Place chicken back in pan. Bring sauce to a slow simmer (if you turn it too hot, the cream may curdle). Add salt & black pepper, and leaves from 2 springs of thyme. Allow to simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Garnish with thyme leaves from remaining sprig of thyme, and serve hot.

Roasted Corn & Chicken Salad with Avocado

In my neck of the woods, the mountains seem to tower over you and the city in a way that makes both feel small. Driving towards them I often wonder what it was like to be a pioneer, venturing across the plains in a covered wagon and then (then!) laying eyes on the towering Rockies ahead. What a mixture of thoughts they must've had: awestruck by the peaks, worried about the journey ahead. And just imagine how many sunsets they watched, day after day moving no more than 15 or 20 miles ahead of where they started. What a life that was. 

You would never know it from my participation in history classes, but one of my favorite things to ponder is what happened "way back when". When I consider why I am so intrigued by history, two things stick out at me.

First, I think of the afternoons my mom and I used to spend hopping from antique store to antique store. How proud I was when I bought my first antique! In proper Caitlin-fashion, it was a kitchen supply: a silver tray with matching silver glasses, meant for serving aperitifs (though in grade school I'm sure I just thought they kid sized glasses). 

But I also get hung up on something, and this is reason number two: I don't know my heritage. On my mom's side, there are guesses but nothing is fact. On my dad's side, everything has been over simplified. I want to know the details! As a teen I spent an absurd amount of time looking up surnames and piecing together random tidbits of information.  What I think I know is that most of my ancestors are Native American--something I quite enjoy thinking about. The original tenders of this very land I stand on now. But of course, this is just what I think I know. 

What doesn't escape my wandering thoughts is the history of food: What did my ancestors eat? (As hunters and gathers, when did they first eat traditional crops, like corn?) What did ancient corn taste like? (Certainly not like the corn used in this dish) Did people like jalapeños when they first tasted them? How did they ever figure out how to ferment cacao pods and create xocoatl? 

Oh how I could ponder for hours on hours! Have you ever seeked answers like these? Have you taken any DNA test to learn more? Which one? What did you think? I have been debating taking one, just to satisfy my curiosity. 

Roasted Corn & Chicken Salad with Avocado

Published July 6, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

   |     Print This Recipe

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1/2 pound chicken, diced to bite-sized pieces
• 1 summer squash, diced
• 1/2 of a medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves or garlic, minced
• 3 cobs of corn, with the kernels sliced off and the cobs discarded
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• Dash salt & pepper
• Dash cumin 
• Dash paprika 
• 1/4 cup cilantro, minced 
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 cups baby arugula (or chopped kale, or both) 
• 1 jalapeño, sliced
• 1/4 cup queso fresco or feta, crumbled

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil over medium heat until the oil glistens. Add the chicken, searing on one side. When the chicken pieces are browned on the bottom, flip and cook them on the other side until browned. Use a slotted spoon to move the chicken to a plate and set aside.
2. Add diced summer squash, onion, minced garlic, corn, and red bell pepper to the pan. Sauté until the summer squash is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken back to the pan, and stir to combine. Stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and cilantro.
3. To serve: lay the arugula on a serving dish in an even layer. Top with the chicken corn mixture. Then, arrange diced avocado and sliced jalapeño on top. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.