Caramelized Almonds Corrected

I was looking this recipe over today and relized that when I copied it from my Word document into BLOGGER the formatting got mixed up and portions were all wrong.  Sorry I didn't catch it sooner.  Here is the corrected recipe. 

 

Caramelized Almonds


3 cups slivered/sliced almonds (with skin)  
1 1/2 cups
 Brown Sugar
1/4 cup
 Honey
4 tbsp 
Salt
1/2 tsp
 Water
2 tbsp
 Vegetable/Canola oil


Mix sugar and salt in a bowl. Heat a wide pan on medium and add honey, water, oil & stir. Allow to boil and add the almonds and keep stirring and cooking till all the liquid has been absorbed by the nuts.
Immediately transfer to a bowl and sprinkle the sugar-salt mixture over it and toss so it's uniformly coated.


Spread this almond mixture on a covered baking sheet and allow to cool completely.
 Tasty honey roasted nuts are ready to devour or pack and gift.

Waffles

Easter Sunday, 2007 my then boyfriend purposed to me following the sunrise service.  Just me, him, and 20,000 of our closest friends & family. (Just for fun here is a picture my uncle snapped.) So each year we celebrate the anniversary of that event by doing something for those who serve so faithfully at our church.  This year we decided to serve a breakfast for our video and server crew. 

I was looking for something yummy & filling that would also be easy to prepare and cook.  I settled on whole wheat sourdough waffles & chocolate whole grain sourdough waffles.  It was easy to mix up the levain and separate wet and dry ingredients the night before.  Then I just packed them all up with my waffle maker and homemade fruit syrups for a tasty breakfast for some very hardworking, hungry guys.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Waffles

This recipe uses the acidity of sourdough in reaction with baking soda for leavening.  It makes for a light, crispy waffle with a flavor you won't find anywhere else. If you are planning to take this somewhere before baking as I did use three separate containers, one for the levain and one for wet ingredients and another for dry.   Use a large bowl to mix this as the batter expands quickly as soon as the baking soda meets the levain.

Levain

1 Tablespoon Active Whole Wheat Sourdough Levain
1 1/2 Cups (6 oz) White Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup Buttermilk

Batter

2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) Butter, melted
2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt

To make the levain:  The night before you make the waffles, or early in the morning if you are planning to have them for dinner, combine the levain ingredients in large bowl. Then cover and set aside for at least 8 hours.

To make the batter:  When you are ready to make the waffles, beat the liquid ingredients together and stir them into the sponge.  Them blend the dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir them into the sponge.

To bake the waffles: Bake in a preheated iron until the steam stops coming out the sides, 4 to 5 minutes.

Chocolate Whole Grain Sourdough Waffles

These decadent dessert waffles are so light and crispy it's hard to believe they are made with sourdough and whole wheat.  They are supper delicious with whipped cream and fruit, or anything that goes with chocolate. If you are planning to take this somewhere before baking as I did use three separate containers, one for the levain and one for wet ingredients and another for dry.   Use a large bowl to mix this as the batter expands quickly as soon as the baking soda meets the levain.

Levain

1/2 Cup Active Whole Wheat Sourdough Levain
1 Cup Buttermilk
1Cup White Whole Wheat Flour

Batter

1/2 Cup Dutch-Process Cocoa
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cinnamon
2 Eggs
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 Cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

To make the levain:  The night before you make the waffles, or early in the morning if you are planning to have them for dinner, combine the levain ingredients in large bowl. Then cover and set aside for at least 8 hours.

To make the batter:  When you are ready to make the waffles, beat the liquid ingredients, including the sugar, together and stir them into the sponge.  Them blend the dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir them into the sponge.

To bake the waffles: Bake in a preheated iron until the steam stops coming out the sides, 4 to 5 minutes.

Absolutely Amazing Balsamic Vinaigrette

I am so tired of having to pay $5.00 or even more for a salad dressing that  doesn’t taste cheap and chemically.  While I am all for eating the best food, in taste as well nutrition content and lack of artificial ingredients; the health food/organic movement has resulted in anything “good for you” having ever increasing prices.  And don’t even get me started on my pet peeve that the people who need to eat healthy the most are often the least able to afford it.  But I digress.

So I started looking for a balsamic vinaigrette recipe that would taste as good as the expensive stuff we get in the stores, but be cheaper and better for us as well.  Unfortunately, most of the recipes called for mixing balsamic vinegar with oil and salt & pepper and being done with it.  Functional? Yes. Easy? Yes. Tastes Great? No. Hold together in the fridge without separating? No. (I don’t know about you but separated salad dressing always makes me wonder if it is still good. I know it is a natural process, but still….) So I set out to create a tasty recipe myself.

I started with the basics, vinegar, oil, salt & pepper and then let my taste buds dictate the rest.  I also checked in with my own personal food science reference Cooks Illustrated to find out why it separated and how to stop separating.  The resulting recipe was interesting, fairly simple, and tasted 10 times better than the most expensive Balsamic Vinaigrette I have ever bought.  And most of the ingredients are common in every kitchen so it was far cheaper than buying it.  Try it yourself and see.

Absolutely Amazing Balsamic Vinaigrette

½ cup good quality balsamic vinegar
4 Tablespoons red or white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons Honey
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon spice mustard
1 Tablespoon Mayo (this is the ingredient that prevents separating, be aware if you leave it out you may have some separation as your dressing sits)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon paprika
leaves from one small sprig of rosemary
1 cup oil (olive, canola or vegetable)
Salt & Pepper to taste

I use a liquid measuring cup to measure all my liquids and then add the other ingredients right into the cup and use my immersion blender to process them.  If you don’t have an immersion blender just measure them into your blender and pulse a few times to mix.  Make sure you store this in the fridge and use within a month.