Well, last night we turned off the window fans in the house.
And slept under a quilt.
It was heaven!
Ahhh … cool nights are back again.
Now, a steady breeze is blowing through the open windows and doors.
I decided it’s time to roast some nuts.
Here is a simple little recipe for Maple-Herb Roasted Walnuts. They are crunchy, sweet-savory kinda like candied nuts, but more flavorful. You can use just about any kind of nut in this recipe: pecans, almonds, even cashews or peanuts. We like to put these nuts on our leafy salads. Yummmm
Maple Herb Roasted Walnuts
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1 T maple syrup (more or less depending on your taste for sweetness)
- Thyme
- Rosemary
- Greek Oregano (I think the Greek Oregano has such a better flavor, but any culinary Oregano will do)
PREPARATION 
- Heat the olive oil in a saute pan
- Add maple syrup and let it bubble for a few seconds.
- Add garlic and stir for a few seconds. Then add the walnuts and herbs. Stir to coat the nuts with all the deliciousness.
- Put the nuts into a baking dish (I use a glass pie pan — it’s the perfect size for 1 cup of nuts)
- Bake at 300F for about 10 minutes. Check every few minutes so the nuts don’t burn. YOu want them to smell roasted and be a light golden brown like in my photo.
- Cool til crisp and cool to the touch. When the nuts are totally cool, you can store them in an airtight container like a mason jar.
- Serve sprinkled on salads, brown rice or other grain dishes, or chopped and added to the top of creamy squash soup.
- Enjoy!
The other nuts I roasted today are just plain. All I do is put about 1 cup of pecans, almonds or cashews in a baking dish with nothing on them. Bake for about the same time period — 10 minutes or so, checking often so they don’t burn. (I can’t even tell you how many times I have totally burned a pan of nuts in our oven because I got side tracked and didn’t set the timer! Sigh.)