I do not like eating salads. They don’t fill me up, they’re bland, they’re just lacking the overall oomph I want in my meal. But on the rare occasion that I order a salad when eating out, or when my friend Jenny makes salads, I would go so far as to say I not only like them, I actually enjoy them! It’s a love-hate relationship, you could say. Mostly hate, though. Until now!
In my last {and very first!} Weekly Wrap-Up post, I mentioned how much I enjoyed a salad Jenny made the last time I was over at her place for lunch. Part of what made this salad so enjoyable were these de-lish spiced nuts she tossed in. I find it hard to believe that as a college-educated, twenty-three year old adult I’ve never thought to experiment with seasoned nuts in my salad. It seems so obvious, although in my defense I suppose I haven’t had a lot of experience eating salads to know what makes them taste good. Anyway, I digress.
In my ongoing attempt since then to create tasty salads of my own, I decided to go ahead and make my own spiced nuts.
THE RECIPE
- Nuts – I used slivered almonds and chopped cashews
- Cinnamon
- Cayenne Pepper
- Nutmeg
- Honey
I began by toasting my nuts. I crunched up some regular cashews {lightly salted with sea salt}, mixed them with slivered almonds, and tossed them in a warm frying pan. I have a bad tendency to burn almonds when I attempt to toast them, so I didn’t worry too much about getting them nice and toasted right away. Honestly, I got a little excited and probably tossed the spices in too early, but whatever.
I added in a little cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I eyeballed this. After mixing my spices together in a little prep bowl, I took a taste and added more or less of each spice until I liked the way it tasted. I then sprinkled it over my nuts and mixed it all in, letting the nuts continue to get nice and toasty.
I do not recommend leaning over and smelling your wonderful nuts while they cook. I sneezed a lot. Away from the nuts, of course.
When your nuts are ready, slowly add honey {again, I eyeballed} to the mix and stir well. This helps the spices stick to the nuts and makes the nuts a little sweet. Continue toasting until you’re all set!
Turn off the heat and let your nuts cool. I put mine in a bowl and let them cool in the fridge. After, break up any stuck-together nut clusters and store them in a sealed jar for later use! These spiced nuts for salads are great: A little spicy, a little sweet, and something interesting to add to my boring greens!
Do you have any salad making secrets you want to share? I would LOVE to hear and give your ideas a try! Leave your tips in a comment below, or just say hello if you enjoyed the post :)
