Monday 5 September 2011

Julio and spiced nuts

I have no love for the music of Julio Iglesias...

But Mama adored him.  She would often open up the French doors on a hot afternoon, put on his record and blast “To all the girls I’ve loved before” out to the valley below. 
Can you imagine what the farm workers must of thought...?  She had all his albums and Mama would swoon over him.

She would lounge on her ingenious homemade garden lounger made from a welded steel frame and tightly wrapped garden hosepipe, with a little fibreglass sun roof.  Next to her would be a sun downer drink of angostura bitters, gin and soda with loads of ice and sliced lemon.  A bowl of homemade roasted nuts next to her, a flyswatter in one hand and a delicate Japanese style fan in the other.

I never saw Mama perspire once.  She always smelt of Yardley’s White Satin and had the courage to wear white linen trousers. She was never without her coral colour lipstick and her nails were always beautifully manicured. 
How on earth did she manage this?  I glance down at my short un- polished nails typing this blog...sitting here in my PJs and feel a little consoled by the fact that at least (today) I have a matching set of PJs on...

Today I will share with you Mama’s roasted nut recipe.  Super easy and extremely moreish!

What you need:
You can make a large batch of these – as long as you have a large pan to roast them in.  Otherwise do in batches.  They keep really well in an air tight container.
  • ½ kg of pecan nuts
  • ½ kg of almonds
  • ½ kg Brazil nuts
  • ½ kg raw peanuts with skins on
  • A little oil
  • 1 t-spoon of: sugar, salt, smoked paprika, cinnamon all added to 2 t-spoons of honey

How to make:
  • Mix the spices together to make a paste and warm in the microwave for 30 seconds (or on the stove as Mama used to do).
  • Put all the nuts into a large bowl and pour over the spice mix and gently toss to coat the nuts.
  • On a large baking sheet, rub the oil to cover the sheet with a thin layer.
  • Put the nuts onto the sheet – don’t overload the baking sheet.
  • Bake in the hot oven (200 degrees) for about 8 to 10 minutes – toss the nuts occasionally to make sure they don’t burn.
YUM!

1 comment:

  1. Sounds yum ... break out the champers and the nuts! It's party time!

    ReplyDelete