I love Nuts

Many arabs like to offer guests that visit a cup of tea or coffee and oftentimes bowls of salted or raw nuts for  snack with fresh fruit or sweet pastries. I get bored offering my guests the same thing as all the neighbors, so I have a little twist to make my snacks memorable and unique.

Roasted nuts with a little attitude.

So nuts, though they are high in fat, are also very healthy. You'll obtain from them alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based omega-3 essential fatty acid, required by the human body. Many people take Omega-3 or Omega complex pills made from fish oils as a supplement for heart health. This type of fat aids in improving the HDL (good) cholesterol, and some studies suggest it helps the brain development of the fetus during pregnancy. Of the nuts, walnuts are particularly high in these fats, and are also high in antioxidants and provide a convenient source of protein and fiber. I prize walnuts as essentially the king of nuts for this reason, and I'd encourage using primarily these in recipes involving nuts. Also high in these healthy fats are almonds and cashews, which can also be used especially in families where a walnut allergy is an issue (like for my niece).

Sugar-and-Spice Candied Nuts

Makes approx 16 1/4-cup servings

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup dark-brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (or splenda)
• 1 Tsblespoon paprika
• 2 Tablespoons ground cinnamon
• By replacing the first 4 ingredients with 2/3c white sugar and 1/3c unsweetened cocoa powder, you can create some chocolate-candied nuts that are also quite amazingly delicious.
• 1 pound walnuts, pecans, cashews, or raw almonds
• 1 egg white, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon water

Chocolate/sugar powder (left), and cinnamon/sugar powder after coating some pecans (right)!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
2. Mix sugars and spices in a large bowl that has a lid; set aside. 
3. Beat egg white and water until frothy but not stiff. Add nuts, and stir to coat them evenly. 
4. Remove nuts from the egg white, strain them momentarily to make sure they are not too drippy. 
5. Place them in the bowl of sugar and spices, put the lid on, and shake or toss until evenly coated. 
6. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet fitted with parchment paper or foil. Bake for 15 minutes, shaking the sheet occasionally to stir up the nuts. 
7. Remove from oven, and separate nuts as they cool. When completely cool, pour the nuts into a bowl, breaking up any that stick together.
8. And now munch delightfully!

Nutrition Facts for 1/4-cup of candied walnuts:
202 total calories, 10g total carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 4 g protein, 16g fat
(0.5 Carbohydrate, 3 Fat, and 1 protein exchanges)

Poached D'Anjou Pears with Spice Glaze

A quick dessert that I often fall back on uses simply pears and whole spices that I usually have on hand and rarely use. The preparation takes around 10 minutes to cut the pears, cooking requires around 20 minutes of simply ignoring it, and to serve, arrange these on a platter and garnish. Instead of using D'Anjou pears, you can use a smaller, skinnier, more brown-skinned pear called the Bosc pear. I like to use the bosc pear because of its darker color and better contrast for a fancier dessert presentation. But in a more laid-back setting, D'Anjou pears are great, and also easy to find!

Sometimes I get myself confused with the type of pear to use in cooking, but of the more common types, the Bosc and the d'Anjou pears are easier to cook. Here is a fabulous article describing some of the more common types of pears and their uses.

Poached D'Anjou Pears with Spice Glaze
Serves 8 (where one serving is 1/2 pear)

Ingredients:

• 1/2c sugar
• 4c water
• 4 pieces Star anise
• 1 TB peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise, opened, with seeds scraped out
• vanilla bean seeds (approx 1/2tsp)
• 2 TB fresh ginger root, sliced thinly
• 1 tsp whole cloves
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2c honey
• 1 tsp whole green cardamom pods
• 4 d'anjou pears
• 1 TB corn starch
• Vanilla ice cream, or berry sorbet, and ground nutmeg for garnish

Directions

1. Wash and slice pears in half vertically down the length of the stem.  
2. Using a melon baller, grapefruit spoon or shrimp fork, scoop out seeds.

1. Mix water, sugar and spices together in a 8qt pot. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling.
2. Once the water begins to boil, add the pear halves. Cover the pot and let simmer for 3 minutes.
3. Gently scoop the pears out of the boiling water. Place them on a serving tray, cut-side up.
4. For your spiced glaze, reduce heat to medium and continue simmering.  Remove 1/2c of the boiling sauce and cool to the touch by placing it in a freezer for 5 minutes. 
5. Add the cornstarch to this reserved spice mixture, and mix well until no cornstarch lumps remain. 
6. Add this to your simmering spice sauce, and stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes.
7. Garnish pears by placing a teaspoonful of goat cheese in each pear and topping it with first the hot spice sauce and then some freshly ground nutmeg.

Nutrition Facts for one half pear with 1 TB glaze:
89 total calories, 22 gm total carbohydrate, 2gm fiber, 0 gm protein, 1gm fat
(1 Carbohydrate (1 NET carb), 0 Fat, and 0 protein exchanges)