The holidays are here, so it’s time for that annual freak-out-festival of “Oh My God, what am I going to make for all those people coming over, and gifts for the neighbors, and snacks for shopping, and and and… akkkk!” Never fear, my friends, for I am about to blitz you with a ton of spectacular, tasty and easy spiced nut recipes straight from my kitchen. Featuring flavors from around the world, there’s something here to suit every palate: Indian curried cashews; Truffled-honey hazelnuts; Mexican chili-lime peanuts; spiced maple-glazed pecans; Thai-spiced peanuts; smoky Spanish cashews. I don’t want your heads to explode, so I’ll dish out two of these recipes at a time over the next few days.

These nuts make elegant appetizers, they’re tasty snacks, and they’re fantastic as gifts. Plus they’re high in protein, and did I mention that they take no time at all to make? In short: they kick ass.

But before we get to the nuts, exciting news: have you heard that Jay Z and Beyonce are going to try being vegan for the next 21 days? This is great for them, but even better for us! Next time you’re at a restaurant without vegan options on the menu and you ask the chef to make you a plant-based dish, if the waiter gives you that look – you know the one I’m talking about – you can now throw some attitude back at him: “Would you give that look at Jay Z or Beyonce?! Hmm?” (You may also want to follow that with: “Please don’t spit in my food.”)

Why are Beyonce and Jay Z doing it for just 3 weeks? No, it’s not because they’re special guests at a Fresh Meat Festival at the end of the month. (By the way, there really is such a thing…but I think it might disappoint some carnivores. Google it!)  According to some psychologists, it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. So if you know some carnivores who want to convert, tell them about Jay Z and Beyonce’s 21-day vegan challenge and see if that helps. If that doesn’t work, maybe try giving them that look and spitting on their meat? 😉

In honor of all converting carnivores, the holidays, and everyone with taste buds, here are the first two recipes in my 3-part installment of super easy and extremely delicious spiced nut recipes. Enjoy!

(Oh, and how do you like my mini-chalkboard clips?  They’re great for labeling food for parties. I’ll show you how to make these yourself in an upcoming post, so start channeling your inner Martha Stewart and stay tuned!)

Huh, I just recognized that my handwriting looks like that of a serial killer. Hey, why is my husband hiding the knives?

Indian Curried Cashews
From pantry to table: 11 minutes

If you like the flavors of India, you’re going to love these cashews. (And if you don’t like Indian flavors, what is wrong with you?!) These are crazy-easy to make and when you toss the hot nuts in the spice mixture, it unleashes intoxicating aromas that make your house smell heavenly.

2 cups raw, unsalted cashews
1 tbsp curry powder (personally, I like doing ½ tbsp of curry powder and ½ of garam masala – yum!)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp olive oil
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Heat oven to 350. Roast the cashews for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Meanwhile, in a medium metal bowl, mix all the spices and oil. When the nuts are ready, immediately toss them with the spice/oil mixture for a couple of minutes to coat completely. The nuts are HOT, so it’s important to use a metal bowl instead of plastic (which will melt) or glass (which may crack). Cool completely, then watch people vacuum them up.

Truffled-Honey Hazelnuts*
From pantry to table: about 15 minutes

Mmm, these are so addictive!  The beautiful, elegant flavor of truffles compliments the earthy flavor of the roasted hazelnuts and the slightly sweet taste of honey just perfectly. Serve this to guests you want to impress…or just hoard them all for yourself.

1 cup hazelnuts (preferably with skin removed)
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp truffle salt

Heat oven to 350. In a small bowl, microwave honey for about 15 seconds, until it becomes a little more liquid. Toss the hazelnuts in the honey and coat well.

Line a small baking pan with parchment paper and pour out honeyed nuts in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes, then remove from oven and immediately sprinkle on the truffle salt. Cool completely – the honey coating will harden upon cooling. Then break them up and serve, or store in an airtight container. Oh who are we kidding? Just scarf them down and screw everyone else – you deserve it!

*Please note that I did not call these “filberts.” Because that is just wrong. Whoever is behind the evil plot to change the beautiful name of hazelnut to the dumpy hick name of “filbert” (probably some nut farmers named Phil and Burt – we’re onto you!), we must resist!

Hello and sorry for my absence! I’m in Portugal on assignment at the Kite Surf Pro World Championship Tour event in gorgeous Cascais. Not-so-reliable internet connections and long days of work have made it challenging to post. But I’ve been dying to dig in to this one, so let’s get to it!

I’m about to teach you a secret to making popcorn in the microwave WITHOUT having to buy those disgusting chemical-laden microwavable popcorns. It’s so simple that you’re going to say “no way – seriously?!” and will save you time and money, and may even make you live longer (I mean seriously – those polymers that they call ‘flavoring’ in the microwave bags cannot be good for you).  The evil makers of microwavable popcorn are going to hate me for this, but this is well-deserved payback for their assault on my pallet and their utter mistreatment of my favorite snack: the almighty popcorn.

It’s no secret that popcorn is one of the greatest snacks on the planet. Ever since childhood when my mum would make it in a huge pot on the stove, I have been an addict. It’s my go-to food when I – or my potato-chip loving husband –  have the munchies. It’s light, crunchy, good for you and not fattening, and the perfect alternative to greasy chips. The only imperfect thing about it is that it’s a pain to make. Oh how I rejoiced when microwavable popcorn came out.. And then oh how I frantically scraped my tongue when those chemically coated cardboard popcorn pieces passed my lips. That was emotionally scarring! So those evil makers of microwave popcorn deserve what’s coming to them now…

Here’s the secret: you can pop loose popcorn in any paper bag in the microwave. Seriously.

I like using small paper lunch bags, or better yet, get the free little paper freezer bags from the grocery store, which are slightly thicker than lunch bags – you know, the ones that they use for small tubs of ice cream. Just ask the checkout person and they’ll give a handful of bags for free. This will save you a lot of money – one bag of loose popcorn (with about 15 cents worth of kernels) makes about as much as $30-40 worth of those microwavable popcorn bags. And it’ll also save your taste buds from being assaulted by chemicals.

Here’s how you do it: Load up the bag with 1/4-1/2 cup of loose popcorn kernels (try white popcorn – it’s the lightest and has the best flavor in my opinion), fold the top of the bag  tightly with three folds, put in the microwave (flat side down) and pop it on your microwave’s popcorn setting. Listen for the pops to settle – you may need to add 30-60 seconds to your microwave’s popcorn setting to get all the kernels popped.

One more secret to awesome popcorn: sprinkle it with truffle salt. Yep, truffle salt. It is TO DIE FOR on popcorn! Once I tried it, it was over – it’s the only way I can eat popcorn now. You can purchase truffle salt online at lots of place. I like the one I found at San Francisco’s Ferry Plaza building at the mushroom guy’s shop, and also the black truffle salt at SpiceHound.com – both of theirs have a big truffle flavor and lots of black truffle bits. At $20-25 per jar, it’s expensive but it’ll last you a couple of years – it’s totally worth it. Happy snacking!

Hi from Portugal!