Are you nuts?

Well, actually I am!

Last night, slightly plagued with the beginning of a cold and feeling that slight "Tomorrow is Monday" sort of glum, I decided that I needed to create.- Something edible, something sweet, something that would bring cheer to the week in little doses as we set off on the second leg of our two week grocery shopping from a week ago- when things start to run out usually and we have to get creative with our meals.

So, I splurged and made Spicy & Sweet Nuts.

Sunflower seeds are usually the cheapest so I tend to have more of those than anything else but I happened to have almonds and walnuts too-- thanks to a holiday splurge.

So in they went as well.

I altered this recipe Sugar and Spice Candied Nuts

2/3 c brown sugar (made with regular sugar and molasses)

1 1/3 c sugar

big dash of cinnamon

big dash of coriander

2 teaspoons salt

whatever else you have a hankering for

2 egg whites

2 Tablespoons water

3 or more cups of nuts and seeds

I frothed up the egg whites and water until they were really frothy but not stiff in a nice big bowl.

I added the spices and sugar together in a separate bowl.

Next, I put the nuts into the egg white/water mixture and stirred- play around with that part in case you feel like you need more nuts in there.

Then you lay them out on a parchment lined cookie sheet and sprinkle the sugar spice mixture over top and toss until they are covered.

Bake at 300 for 30 minutes or so and then let cool.

Break up as you put them in a big bowl once they have cooled.

Delicious!

Touched with a sudden need to organize, I had the inspiration to use the sheet metal of the stove's backsplash to start planning our meals and lunch and breakfast options. Dry erase markers are incredibly helpful!!