Sweet and Spicy Thai Roasted Almonds

Well, my day was filled with a taste of what life will be like soon with three little ones in tow. We had our first overnight visit tonight, and it has gone really well so far. Surprisingly well, actually. I think we are in the "honeymoon" stage as a family :) I keep waiting for major meltdowns, then we all start crying, and we (me and the husband) just don't know what in the world to do! I know that time is coming, but at least for now we seem to be surviving.

These are a great meal replacement for a meatless dish. Also great for addictive snacking! As I mentioned in a previous post, I am more about making quick and easy meals and desserts these days. Hope you enjoy these quick and easy almonds.

Sweet and Spicy Thai Roasted Almonds

makes 2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp of coconut oil, melted
  
• 1 tsp of fresh grated ginger root (about a 1/4" piece if using a Microplane)
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced (I also use my Microplane for this)
• 1 tsp of apple cider vineger
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (I like them on the fairly spicy end so feel free to adjust for less heat)
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp of sea salt
• 1 Tbsp of granulated (not liquid) coconut sugar (or sucanat, date sugar, sugar in the raw, etc. will work too)
  
• 2 cups almonds (I use sprouted almonds sometimes and that will work as well)

Method

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, add all the ingredients except the almond and stir.
• Stir in the almonds to evenly coat them.
• Place them on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake at 325 F for 15 minutes, being careful to toss them frequently to prevent burning.
• Let them cool for 15-20 minutes before serving so that the sugar in the coating has time to cool down to a crunchy caramel, and eat!

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Cheesecake Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookie Crumbles

I'm back!

So sorry to have been gone so long! I have some recipes that I have been wanting to share, just no time to sit down and blog about them. Our past couple of weeks has been spent preparing our home for 3 sweet children to come and live in it, visiting with those children, and also preparing for a move. Busy, busy, busy. I would say our first full day visit with the kiddos was a success food-wise. They ate up our "different from McDonald's" food :) They loved them some fruit to snack on and one is actually allergic to dairy as well so works out great for our fam!

But onto the recipe. I wanted to call it "Oreo© Cheesecake Ice Cream", or "Cheesecake Brownie ice cream" but some fine gentelmen already came up with that name and I didn't want to steal it :)

This recipe can be made vegan, and is, of course, already dairy free. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Ice Cream with Chocolate Cookie Crumbles

Serves: 4
Ingredients
For the Ice Cream

• 1 1/2 cans of coconut milk
• 1/3 cup of raw honey (or coconut sugar for vegan option)
• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

For the Cookie/ Brownie Crumbles

• 1/2 cup nuts of choice
• 3 Tbsp carob or cocoa powder- I like using half of each
• 1/2 tsp coffee extract (not for coffee flavor, just to enhance the chocolate flavor)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 dates
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil

Method

• For the ice cream, blend all ingredients together in a blender and then pour into ice cream maker. Process according to your ice cream maker's instructions.
• For the cookie pieces, pulse all the ingredients in a food processor until they form a ball of dough and hold together when pressed.
• When the ice cream is mostly frozen, crumble half the cookie pieces to the ice cream maker. You may have to stir them in. Let the ice cream finish freezing completely.
• Serve in bowls and top with remaining brownie/ cookie crumbles.

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