roasted pecans

i never really liked pecans growing up. maybe it was my child's palate. maybe it was my disdain for odd things in my baked goods (nuts and raisins are members of the "odd things" family). hard to say why. and even now, a plain pecan is nothing to write home about, much less grab a handful and curl up on the couch for a snack.

but these....ooooooh, these. they are amazing chopped up on a salad. incredible sprinkled over mashed yams. and a tempting, delicious grab-a-handful kind of snack.

and they're really easy!

roasted pecans

original recipe

1 pound raw pecans

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

preheat oven to 325-degrees. spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. bake pecans for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until pecans are browned--be careful not to burn them! during the last round, melt butter and sugar together in the microwave. stir to combine butter and sugar--all the sugar may not dissolve.

put hot pecans in a heat-safe bowl and drizzle with butter/sugar mixture. stir until all pecans are coated. spread pecans back out on the baking sheet and sprinkle with just a little bit of salt. stir to combine. taste. add more salt if needed, but you really need less than a teaspoon total.

let pecans cool. eat as is or chop up and sprinkle wherever you would like.

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how to seed a pomegranate without stains or beatings

hello, allow me to introduce myself. i am your new best friend.

oh beautiful pomegranate seeds...so tasty, so delicious, soooooo difficult to obtain! whether creating a staining mess or beating the tar out of the peel whilst flinging juice everywhere--is it really worth it? how much stain remover must one buy when one just wants the sweet nectar of a pomegranate?

i tell you, NONE! here, my dear reader, i will reveal the secret to stain-free, beating-free, flinging-free adventure of getting to pomegranate seeds. sorry kids, you'll have to take your aggression out on a different source. hold on to your hats--here we go!

fill a bowl 3/4 full with cool water. be sure to use a bowl big enough to fit the whole pomegranate as well as your two hands.

cut each end off the pomegranate--just need enough off each end to get access.

then, and this is important, score the peel several times by cutting into the peel just enough to break the outer layer, then drag the knife from top to bottom.

now plunge your scored pomegranate along with your two hands into the cool water.

begin peeling back the outer layer, breaking the shell along the score lines.

run your thumb and/or finger across the pomegranate seeds to loosen them from their shell.

see how those lovely, lovely seeds drop to the bottom of the bowl?

and that icky, icky pith floats to the top?

and see how the peel is lacking those seeds it so desperately holds onto?

and notice still how very little juice has leaked out and colored the water?

ah, yes, hang in there. you're almost to the promised land.

keep prying and rubbing until all the seeds are loose.

see how all the seeds are at the bottom, and all that pith is floating?

what's more--see how my little fingers hold no stain?!?!

(they are pink because i used freeeeeeeeezing cold water!!)

and though the water is tinged pink,

no stain, no mess, no beating the tar out of fruit.

it's a beautiful thing!

i put the seeds on a paper towel to dry them a bit before tossing them in a bowl to snack.

elapsed time: 10 minutes.

number of stains: 0

number of tasty, tasty pomegranate seeds: fewer and fewer as i munch away.

butternut squash w/ italian sausage soup

ah, squash. i used to wrinkle my nose and shake my head as my mom pulled the roasted squash from the oven as part of dinner. now, as an adult, i recognize it's tastiness--and it's healthy too! you just can't beat that.

and though the butternut squash and sausage combo may give you the same reaction i had to squash in childhood, trust me, this is a keeper! now, i have made this with italian sausage or plain, fresh onion or dried minced, fresh garlic or pre-minced, roasted squash or frozen squash, chicken stock or bullion or soup base, heavy cream or milk--any way you shake it, it's still good! below are instructions for how i made it today.

butternut squash w/ italian sausage soup

heavily adapted from emeril

1 pound italian sausage

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 1/2 Tbsp dried minced onions

5 Tbsp cold water

2 rounded Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp ground sage

3 ten-ounce packages frozen cooked squash

6 cups water

2 1/2 Tbsp "organic better than bullion reduced sodium chicken base"

1 tsp cider vinegar

1/2 cup heavy cream

salt and pepper to taste

heat olive oil in large skillet. when the oil is not-yet-smokin' hot, add the sausage and brown it. meanwhile, put dried minced onions in a small bowl or mug and add the 5 Tbsp cold water--allow to sit 10 minutes to reconstitute. when sausage is browned, add reconstituted onions to the pan. cook several minutes until the onions begin to brown. add garlic and cook a minute or so, stirring to brown the garlic. add sage and stir.

in a large stock pot, add frozen cooked squash, 6 cups water and chicken soup base. turn the heat on high and allow to warm as you are finish cooking sausage mixture. add sausage mixture to squash mixture in the large stock pot. bring to a boil, stirring occasionally as you break up the frozen squash. once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

in batches, use a blender to pulse-puree the soup, dumping it in a different pot after each blend. REMEMBER: hot liquid spews all over the place!! AND you have to let the steam release--so use the lid, but pull out that middle plug first! in my 6-cup blender, i only put in 2-cups of hot soup at a time and pulse several times until the larger sausage chunks become small sausage chunks.

once pureed, add cider vinegar and cream. stir until blended. serve and enjoy!