Tag Archives: pecans

Dec22

Festive Cranberry Wild Rice Salad

Posted on by
Standard

FullSizeRender

Tis the season for hosting gatherings, sharing meals and savoring moments. I brought this simple salad to a holiday party recently and it was a hit. I knew I wanted to use fresh cranberries, but honestly didn’t really know how it was going to turn out. Well, it worked and I was asked by several guests for the recipe, so here you go.

I cooked some Lundberg Countrywild rice according to the package directions, but you could use any wild rice really. Then while the rice was still warm, I added chopped fresh cranberries so they would soften but not be too cooked. I chopped celery, apple and pecans to add. The whole thing was pulled together with a simple cranberry vinaigrette. I found the most amazing cranberry vinegar here in Houston at an oil and vinegar store called Vom Fass. If you can’t find that flavor, simply use a plain balsamic vinegar.

Read the rest of this entry →

Oct7

FYG Fall Breakfast Ideas

Posted on by
Standard
photo 1 (21)

Green Apples + Raw Walnuts

Now that it’s Fall, a busy time of swirling activity and change, I’m looking for a grounding seasonal breakfast to start my day. Don’t know about you, but I can get into a morning rut. Always having the same thing…usually some variation of raw or minimally cooked oatmeal, nuts and seeds.

As recent as five years ago, I was mostly eating boxed cereal for breakfast. I thought this was fine, even healthy. I’ve learned so much since then. I wouldn’t dream of eating that way now. First of all, boxed cereal is not a food, it’s a processed food product. There is nothing in nature that resembles a Cherrio or Fruit Loop.

Read the rest of this entry →

Jan13

Chai-Spiced Pecan Butter

Posted on by
Standard

Image

If I had to make a prediction for a 2014 food trend, I’d pick artisan nut butters. Yep, I’m talking $12/jar fancy shmancy nut butters. They might be a blend of different nuts or have special spices and flavors added. Of course, chocolate-hazelnut has been done and people love it. What about vanilla cashew butter or ginger brazil nut butter or cardamom almond hemp seed butter?

So I thought I’d whip up my own batch of trendy nut butter using good ole Texas pecans and chai spices. Making nut butter is so easy. Um, you put the nuts in a food processor and let it whirl around until it turns into nut butter. That’s pretty much it. I liked using pecans because I can get them locally since I live in Houston.  It’s our state tree and everything. Pecan trees, a species of hickory trees, are actually native to the U.S. and our country produces more than 80 – 90% of the world’s supply. So that’s neat, too.

Read the rest of this entry →

Oct24

Pumpkin Granola + Fresh Persimmons

Posted on by
Standard

Image

This is my second granola post and as far as I’m concerned I could post a new granola recipe every week and it would be awesome. The world really can’t have too much granola. And there are so many great flavor combinations to work with that it allows for lots of creativity. So here’s my autumn seasonal granola and I hope you love it.

I topped the pumpkin granola with fresh persimmons from Houston’s Eastside farmers market. There are two main varieties of persimmons that are generally available: Hachiya (astringent) and Fuyu (non-astringent). Apparently, the hachiya can make your mouth pucker when under-ripe. The fuyu can be eaten when the fruit is firm. I went with the Fuyu variety.

Read the rest of this entry →

Aug28

Raw Banana Cream Tart

Posted on by
Standard

Image

I’ve been a busy little foodie yoga girl lately. Busy in life, busy on my mat and busy in the kitchen. Last weekend, while I was playing at a local lake, I stumbled upon a banana tree. Right here in Houston. I didn’t even know they grew here. The bananas were so cute. Little tiny things with thin skins. And they were really, really sweet and reminded me of banana cream pie. So guess what I decided to make this week?

Read the rest of this entry →