Tuesday's Taste Bud Tease: Toasted Cinnamon Nuts

Nothing beats the smell of warm, toasted cinnamon and vanilla wafting from the kitchen! It's like a warm hug that urges you to close your eyes and inhale the loveliness! I tried this recipe for toasted cinnamon and vanilla nuts, in preparation for Christmas, because I think it would make a lovely gift. Just think, a quirky vintage tin, filled with nutty yumminess, tied with a pretty velvet ribbon, or a brimming Mason jar, hand-tied with a pretty tag, and filled with delicious, sweetly spiced nuts made by your own fair hands! I think it would be the perfect accompaniment for cocktails, warm mulled wine, or just as an after dinner treat on Christmas Eve, or whilst battling it out over a board game or two! This is definitely on our agenda for the festive season. And the recipe? So easy!

You'll need:

* Nuts of your choice! I opted for a mixed variety of almonds, 

  pecans, cashews and hazelnuts. (3 cups)       

* Egg white from one large egg.

* Vanilla Essence (2tsp.)

* White sugar (half a cup)

* Brown Sugar (quarter cup)

* Cinnamon (two tsp.)

Method:

* Preheat oven to 150 C/300 F. 

* Line an oven tin with baking parchment/greaseproof paper. 

* Whisk the egg white, vanilla essence and a teaspoon of water

  together until frothy. Set aside.      

* Combine sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl.

* Coat nuts thoroughly in egg white mixture.

* Add sugar and cinnamon mix to nuts, and coat well.

* Spread mixture onto lined tin, and toast in the oven for 30  

  minutes.

* Remove from oven, and if you can resist, let it cool. If not, tuck

  in! So yummy when warm, but don't give yourself tongue burn!

Enjoy!

Blessings

Wordless Wednesday...Kitchen snaps

Happy Wednesday!

Fall-ing in love with autumn...all over again...

Hello! Well, what a crazy busy week it has been! School trips, work commitments, celebrations and 'normal life' have filled every second with a sense of  'busy'! But, I have finally managed to dress the mantel in the living room for autumn. I like to change things for every season, and this September has been no different. I did however, decide to try something a little different than usual for this beautiful season. I do love autumn...It is almost like nature is taking a deep breath, pausing, waiting, before it exhales a warm glow over an ever changing landscape. Nature is painting a pallet of gold, rust, crimson and warm browns, comforting colours to usher us gently from the brights of summer into the deep of winter.

Autumn, to me, is a time of feathering one's nest, in preparation for the long cold winter that will soon come knocking. I imagine the little woodland creatures hunting and gathering, wisely making hay while the sun still shines! So, for the mantel, I decided to go for a woodland theme with an autumnal feel...

A leafy garland, carefully sewn together and hung from the mantel...

I found the free printable on Pinterest...A great reminder that we should be grateful for this season, for the harvest is to come...

A few happy creatures...Mr Bear, Raccoon and a feisty little fox...I drew the template for the bear myself, but the raccoon and fox were featured in 'Mollie Makes', and can be found online.

Some woodland toadstools perhaps?

A few woodland tales so we can snuggle and read together...'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Squirrel's Autumn Search', 'It takes two to twit-twoo', and 'Freddy and the Fairy'...We love nothing more than cosy story time on a crisp autumn evening...

A few pumpkins and painted pine cones for a bit of colour!

And so we fall in love with autumn...all over again!

Blessings