Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds: More Versatile Than You'd Think

Cinnamon-sugar, almonds, butter and salt. The ingredients for a fantastic little sweet treat, which is just what I was in search of.

I had a choice of walnuts, pecans, cashews or almonds. The almonds were already slivered and raw, so I went with them. This recipe is really adaptable, you can use any kind of nut (although I'd stay away from peanuts).

While I was eating these I realized they could be an accompaniment for savory dishes as well as sweet ones. These cinnamon-sugar almonds would be great in oatmeal or included in a rice pudding. For a savory use, serve them up with a really crispy-skinned glazed chicken and roasted Brussels sprouts. To add some texture and another level of flavor, stir a portion of cinnamon-sugar almonds into saffron rice with shrimp.

Add in a variety of spices, experiment a bit to see what flavor mixes work well together for you. Smoked paprika would go nicely with the sugar and butter, alongside the cinnamon. Have some fun and enjoy!

Cinnamon-Sugar Almonds

Ingredients:

• 1 cup slivered raw almonds
• 1 tablespoon powdered cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter

Method:

1. Heat a small skillet over high heat.
2. Add butter, and swirl it around in the pan, until it is melted.
3. Pour almonds into the butter, stir them around until all are coated with the butter.
4. Cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the nuts begin to brown.
5. Turn off the heat and let the almonds sit in the hot pan for another 3 minutes, stirring to keep them from burning.
6. Pour the almonds into a serving bowl and add the cinnamon-sugar. Stir to coat all the almonds in the cinnamon-sugar.

Butternut Squash Jalapeno Soup

That's kind of a strange color for butternut squash soup, huh?

Well that's because it's got jalapeno and sage added to it.

I may have overdone the jalapeno a bit, thus the extra green color, but the flavor is really nice.

I didn't used to like soups like this. My favorite soups feature meat (usually ham or bacon) and it was kind of a hard sell for me to embrace this fully vegan soup. The turning point for me was that roasting the squash was so easy. It's the kind of thing you can throw in a pan in five minutes, with any number of herbs and spices, and then just put in the oven and forget about it for an hour or so. Once it's cooked and cooled all you have to do it scrape the meat out of the skin of the squash and puree all the good bits from the bottom of the roasting pan.

For this version, I roasted the jalapenos right alongside the squash. The only issue with that is that they don't get as crunchy as they do when I pan fry them, so there wasn't anything to use as garnish in the end. To thicken the soup, I used almonds and almond milk, but if you have any kind of problem with nuts, just leave them out, it's plenty thick on it's own.

Best of all, this is completely vegan and gluten free. For those of you who are trying hard to get back on the right track post-New Year's celebrations, give this soup a try.

Butternut Squash Soup with Jalapeno and Sage

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 large Butternut squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
• 2 Jalapeno peppers, cut into rings (remove the seeds if you want to avoid too much spice)
• 1 Shallot, diced
• 1 small Red Onion, diced
• 4 sprigs Sage, shredded
• 2 cloves Garlic, peeled but not chopped
• 4 Tbsps Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 10 Almonds (optional)
• 1/8 cup Almond Milk (optional)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• Position the squash cut side up in a roasting pan large enough to fit both halves of the butternut squash without them touching.
• Place the sage and garlic in the cavity of the squash.
• Add some of the olive oil and salt and pepper.
• Flip over the squash. You may need to move the garlic and herbs a bit to get them to fit back into the cavity no that the squash is skin side up.
• Place the jalapenos, onions and shallots in between the two halves of the squash.
• Drizzle remainder of olive oil over the top of all the ingredients.
• Roast everything for 40 minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the squash, until a knife easily goes through the meat.
• Once the squash is cool, scrape out the meat.
• Take everything left in the roasting pan and the meat of the squash and place them in a food processor. Add the almonds and almond milk (optional).
• Pulse until the texture you desire is reached.

Enjoy!

A {Fig} Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Yet another excellent installment in the Gran Fran birthday lead-up.I have included a recipe from my own kitchen using figs, as I don't ever recall her cooking with them. Rather, they were served alongside Prosciutto di Parma and maybe some almonds.

From Gran Fran's Lips to Your Ears: My brother moved to Oklahoma City to plant a fig tree. He plans to bring a bit of Brooklyn Italian to the home of the Cherokee, the Choctaw, and the Chickasaw. He’s lived without a fig tree for well over half a century, but now that he’s retired the view from his West Side condo lacked tangible proof of his childhood.

For him and for me, the longer we’re grown-ups, the more magnetic is the lure of childhood. And I yearn for those things that spelled home and comfort, and miss the loving embrace in the hefty arms of a strong solid grandma, a neighbor’s pat on the head and her admiration of my dark thick curls as I take a walk—a passegiatta—with my grandfather, and even the cheek-scraping kiss of the rosey rotund (very flabby armed) cumare with her whiskery chin. Those who peopled our childhood are now gone, but I continue to search out the scents, foods, and traditions that I grew up with so I can share them with my children and so that I can remind myself of where I came from –a Brooklyn neighborhood teeming with street-level stores, open cellar doors, ill-lighted tenement hallways, and a fig tree in every backyard.

Now every August I search greenmarkets to find a green cardboard container filled with figs. I touch the fruit and it yields enough to expose its seeds and its sweet sticky scent. And I'm in Brooklyn, sitting on a folding chair at the curb eating the sweet fruit and planning what I'll wear to the first day of fourth grade.

Fig Puff Pastry Tart ala Gran Fran's Daughter

adapted from Bon Appetit, 1993

Ingredients

• 1/2 17 1/4-ounce package (1 sheet) frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
• 1 egg, beaten to blend (glaze)
• 7-ounces of nuts, pulverized in a food processor
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 1/2 cup apricot jam (any jam works well here, experiment a little!)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• Sliced assorted fresh fruit (such as kiwi fruit, strawberries and figs)

Method

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Roll out thawed pastry square on flour dusted work surface to 9 1/2-inch square.
• Pull edges of dough up slightly, to form a higher edge then the center of the tart.
• Brush edges of square with egg glaze.
• Pierce center of pastry all over with fork.
• Bake until pastry is golden brown about 25 minutes.
• Melt jam with ginger in heavy small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, blend nut paste and cream in processor until almost smooth. Spoon almond filling into center of tart and spread evenly. Bake 5 minutes.
• Arrange fruit decoratively atop tart, and brush jam glaze over fruit.
• Place back in the oven for 10 minutes until fruit has softened.
• Enjoy!