Yummy Candied Walnuts...

For years I've been hunting for a good recipe to make candied nuts - I had a spinach salad about 10 years ago that had spinach, candied almonds and strawberries in it and the taste combination with the sweet crunch of the nuts was to die for. I had never found, or perhaps I had never actively searched for, a recipe to mimick those nuts. Until now...

We had our good friends Audrey and Wolfgang over for brunch/early supper on Sunday and I had a box of fresh picked strawberries from Indian Garden Farms that begged to be used in a spinach salad with a balsamic vinaigrette (am I the only one who loves sweet strawberries with balsamic vinegar?). I knew I wanted crunch in there, too - and have been on a real kick making homemade croutons from either canned chickpeas (roasted in the oven until crispy) or tortillas (roll them up, cut crosswise into long strips, spray with cooking spray and spice any way you want, bake them off in 400 degree oven until crispy). Candied nuts came to mind.

Do you know how many recipes are online for candied nuts? I decided on one that didn't use butter - thanks, my hips don't need any more padding - so that narrowed down the choices. I also didn't want a lot of work. I found one on Everyday Southwest - and crossed my fingers they would turn out. As I got into the recipe, I realized the blog/website didn't give me an oven temp, so I kept looking until I found some information on recipetips.com.

They turned out perfectly - I used walnut halves - and a lot of the nuts didn't make it into the salad because The Husband and I kept snacking on them! They are that good. I will definitely make these again - using different nuts and possibly getting creative with some other spices (I'd love to try a bit of dried chili and lime jest for a more mexican flavored variety. Here's the recipe in case you're interested:

2 1/2 cups walnut halves (or other nuts)

1 eggwhite (fork beaten until frothy)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt (I would add more salt next time to up the sweet/salty ratio)

Coat nuts in eggwhite - add sugar and salt and stir thoroughly. Spread on lightly oiled (I use foil and baking spray for easy clean up) cookie sheet, separate them as best you can. Bake at 350 degrees about 15 - 20 minutes or until nuts are browned nicely (be careful, they will go from browned to burned in a blink of an eye).

Cool on baking sheet then store (if there are any left) in airtight container.

What goes into your salads, People of Blogland? Have you ever make candied nuts? And for those interested, I've revamped my blogroll on the righthand side of the blog - I've got categories now since I have such varied interests. Notice I have a cooking/foodie section - there are some great food blogs out there :)

Inspiration - Affirmations...

Honestly, I really should get up every morning, head to the bathroom sink, and do THIS...



Imagine beginning every morning with some serious 'feel good' affirmations. Maybe I'll give it a shot - I'll report back later today (since this is pre-posted Tuesday night).

Happy Wednesday, People of Blogland - feel free to leave your affirmation in the comment section :)

Blogging Without Obligation...

On my many blog travels, I came across this logo:

on AGING DISGRACEFULLY, a fellow Nova Scotian who blogs regularly about this and that (her garden, her frugal shopping, her shoes - love it). Naturally, I had to click the link to see what was what.

The link took me here: tartx.

I knew I had found the perfect mantra as I made the decision to continue to blog (believe me, there was quite a debate in my head over "To Blog or Not to Blog")! And because Tiffani opened up her idea/words/logo to the world, I'm going to share it with you, here.

• Because you shouldn’t have to look at your blog like it is a treadmill.
  Because its okay to just say what you have to say. If that makes for a long post, fine. Short post, fine. Frequent post, fine. Infrequent post, fine.
  Because its okay to not always be enthralled with the sound of your own typing.
  Because sometimes less is more.
  Because only blogging when you feel truly inspired keeps up the integrity of your blog.
  Because they are probably not going to inscribe your stat, link and comment numbers on your tombstone.
  Because for most of us blogging is just a hobby. A way to express yourself and connect with others. You should not have to apologize for lapses in posts. Just take a step back and enjoy life, not everything you do has to be “bloggable”.
  Because if you blog without obligation you will naturally keep your blog around longer, because it won’t be a chore. Plus, just think you will be doing your part to eradicate post pollution. One post at a time. . .

So, moving forward, People of Blogland, I will be here (but not always), I will continue to blog about this and that, going back to the original idea of an online Journal. You're welcome to join me :)

Definition of Sporadic...

OK, so over the past 5 weeks my blogging hasn't been 'sporadic' - more like non-existant. For that, I am sorry - but I did enjoy the time away from the blog. No panic the night before as I tried to come up with something to write about. Hours spent away from the computer. Time to visit with my mom and watch mindless TV (including some excellent old movies). Did I miss the blog? No, not really. Did I miss my blog friends? Absolutely!

So it's time to get back into the regular routine (more on this tomorrow) of blogging. And visiting with my bloggin friends :) I'm going to do some blog-ovations after time spent thinking about what I want the blog to be and how I want to use it. Watch for changes in the next few days. I'll also come out of Lurkdom - yes, I've been reading your blogs, but haven't commented.

For those who are interested - I had a fabulous time on my holidays. A great visit with friends in Calgary (with a surprise trip to Kananaskis Country that I'll blog about later - and share pictures) that included getting to know my girlfriend's daughters who are amazing, taking part in a flashmob (OK, there was only 4 of us, but we did rock out to Lady Gaga's Born This Way in the middle of H&M store in Market Mall in Calgary), and some serious R&R with my friend Brenda!

The half-marathon weekend in Saskatoon (with Brenda) was brilliant. And I finished the race in 2:34:17, a full 6 minutes faster than my last half-marathon race Oct. 2010! Brenda finished as well, a great accomplishment considering she hurt her knee/hip and didn't think she'd be able to do it at all - well done, Brenda. The race was even more memorable since my niece Tiffany was there running a 10K - and ran a personal best in under an hour, brilliant - and she spotted me in the crowd of 2000+ runners, so we were able to have a brief visit before the race started. My nephew David ran the half with shin splints! He ran a personal best, too. And waiting at the finish line were his wife and two daughters and my brother (his dad) and sister-in-law.

The day included a celebratory trip to Denny's for an amazing ham and cheese omelette with shredded hashbrowns, and an afternoon at the hotel pool/hot tub visiting with my nephew, his wife and two girls. Loved watching their enthusiasm for the water slide, and loved having the time to catch up with David and Leah!

I'll chat about the rest of my holiday later on in the week - since this is getting long. It's good to be back!