A Staggered, Ongoing Christmas...

I had SUCH a busy semester, that I feel like I'm still constantly behind on everything and always playing catch up. So here we are, looking at New Year's, and I'm not even finished with Christmas gifts yet! I have a whole bunch of friends--both local and distant--who have yet to receive holiday treats from me. And I didn't even take cookies to the neighbors like I have done every year since moving here. *sigh* Well, thank goodness that there are 12 days of Christmas! I pray I'll be finished by Epiphany.

To celebrate my friends at karaoke last night, I made a huge bucket of very special snack mix to take a share. It's based on a recipe from Bon Appetit, but I had to make some substitutions based on the ingredients that I could find locally. For example the recipe called for small whole wheat circles, but who can find such a thing in this town? Also, I could only find Wasabi peas which the recipe warned against, so I swapped out those pea pod crisp thingies. I used mostly cashews instead of peanuts (personal preference), and since I could only find Terra Chips and not Terra Stix, I swapped out veggie straws. But those are basically colored Styrofoam, so next time, I will use the Terra Chips or try to find the Stix in Burlington or order them online.

BA Party Mix

(Source: Bon Appetit)
Yield: 12 cups

4 cups Bugles (original flavor)

3 cups whole wheat sesame pretzel rounds or other small pretzels

2 cups roasted unsalted peanuts

1 cup raw shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

1 cup store-bought roasted green peas (not wasabi flavor)

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

12 large garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoonsWorchestershire sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon English mustard powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika plus more for sprinkling

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 cups Terra Stix

Preheat oven to 250°. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and gently cook to infuse butter, about five minutes. Strain into a small bowl, pressing to extract garlic juices; discard garlic. Stir in Worcestershire, Dijon mustard, mustard powder, salt, paprika, and pepper. Pour over mixture in bowl and gently toss to coat.

Divide mixture between 2 baking sheets and spread in an even layer. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until dry and toasted, about 1 hour. Sprinkle mixture with a few pinches of paprika. Toss and let cool completely on baking sheets (party mix will become crispy as it cools).

Transfer party mix to a large bowl. Add Terra Stix and toss to mix well.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Update (1/1/15): My friends liked this mix so much, that I actually made a third batch! This time, I used mixed nuts and Terra Chips, which added great pops of color. I also pureed the garlic in the butter and added it to the marinade instead of straining it out (NEVER TOO MUCH GARLIC!), and I added the veggie stix (I had a bag left over) to the mix before baking so they soaked up some of the marinade and acually tasted like something in the end. Lastly, I added a big squeeze of sriracha to the marinade to give the snack mix a bit of a kick. These were definite improvements that I would repeat.

In addition to baggies of the special snack mix, I wanted to make mini loaves of the most awesome banana nut bread in Christendom to take to some of my friends at trivia tonight. But I couldn't find any disposable loaf pans at the store. I was perusing the holiday clearance aisles when I spotted some cute silicone baking molds in the shape of little Christmas village houses and churches--and they were 50% off! (There are some perks of procrastinating on your Christmas baking.) Aren't these little cakes just PRECIOUS, especially after a snowstorm of powdered sugar??

Pre-Seasonal Muffins: All of the Flavor, Half of the Guilt!

I thought maybe Cyd might like a break from her daily breakfast smoothie, plus I really miss baking! So I tried to fashion a batch of low-carb, reduced sugar, maple pumpkin pecan muffins. I am very pleased with how they taste, and they are so light and tender! But they are so soft, that they kind of fall apart, at least when warm. Maybe I need to try adding a little of one of those weird binders like xanthan gum next time? An extra egg? Or maybe just a little coconut flour? (Paleo/Primal/Gluten-Free bakers, feel free to chime in down in the comments.) Anyway, these were an admirable first effort!

Low Carb/Reduced Sugar Maple Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

2 eggs (next time, I might try three)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup Stevia in the Raw
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 1/2 cups almond flour (next time, I might try adding a 1/2 cup coconut flour)
3/4 cup pecan pieces

Preheat oven to 325, and line a 12-muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large mixing bowl, fold all ingredients together by hand until well-combined. Use a standard muffin scoop to portion batter into muffin cups, and press down any bumps on the tops with your wet fingers before baking.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown around the edges and a toothpick comes out clean.

Number of Servings: 12

CLCA Day 16: My New Favorite Tacos!

"Cyd's Low-Carb Adventure," Day 16
Breakfast: Mixed Berry Smoothie with Almond Milk and Chia Seeds
Lunch: Beef with Broccoli and Mushrooms over Cauliflower "Rice" (leftovers)
Dinner: Aida Mollenkamp's Pea Guacamole and Seared Halloumi Soft Tacos--pictured

THESE TACOS ARE MY NEW FAVORITE THING--SOOOOOO YUMMY! They're pretty quick and easy, too, and meatless...but yet still savory and satisfying. Of course, I used some sprouted grain hippie tortillas to minimize the carb impact. I pretty much followed the recipe, although I added some onion to the tomatoes, and a squirt of sriracha at the end, as is my way. DELISH!!!

Pea Guacamole and Seared Halloumi Soft Tacos
(Source: Aida Mollenkamp)

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 medium garlic clove, pressed or finely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus more for frying
2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups fresh or frozen shelled sweet peas
1 medium firm-ripe avocado
1 medium lime or lemon
6 1/4 ounces Halloumi or paneer cheese cut into 1/2-inch steaks
8 flour or whole wheat tortillas

Toss together the tomatoes, garlic, two tablespoons of the olive oil, and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate until ready to serve.

Cook the peas in just enough water to cover in a small pot over medium heat, about four minutes. Drain, reserving about 1/4 cup of the pea cooking liquid. Add the reserved cooking liquid and two tablespoons of olive oil to the peas and puree in a food processor until mostly smooth with some small pieces of peas remaining. Add the avocado and pulse to a slightly chunky puree. Add a squeeze of lime or lemon, season with a pinch of salt, taste, and adjust as desired. Set aside.

Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a medium nonstick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Season the cheese on both sides with pepper. Add to the hot pan and cook until crisp and brown on one side, two minutes. Flip and continue cooking until just browned, one to two minutes more.

Toast the tortillas over an open flame on your stove. Add a spoonful of the pea guacamole to each tortilla, top with the cheese and the tomatoes and their juices. Serve warm.

Pecan pie...in a muffin? YES, PLEASE!

OH SHOOT! I made these delicious little pecan pie muffins, and they were so good that we gobbled them up before I remembered to take a picture. So photo credit goes to someone named Dianne from St. Cloud, MN on All Recipes. In any case, these were so easy to throw together, and if you like pecan pie, this aptly-named muffin is calling your name!

Pecan Pie Muffins
(Source: All Recipes)

1 cup packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup all-purpose flour pinch of salt 1 cup chopped pecans

2/3 cup butter, softened 2 eggs, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 9 muffin cups with paper liners and spray with cooking spray (or 18 mini-muffins).
2.	In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar and flour. Melt the butter with the pecans in a small sauce pan until they begin to smell toasty and slightly browned. Remove from heat and cool for five minutes. Whisk the eggs until fluffy, then combine with the cooled melted butter and nuts and the vanilla. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring just t combine. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups.
3.	Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks when done.