honey roasted almonds.

In the spirit of DIY, I wanted to make something special to give to friends and co-workers this Christmas.  I've tried this honey roasted almond recipe a few times before and thought they would make the perfect edible gift.


You'll need:
- 2 c. whole almonds
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground sea salt
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 2 tbsp. water
- 2 tsp. vegetable oil

Spread almonds in a single layer on an ungreased baking pan.  Bake at 350 F for 12 - 15 minutes (don't preheat the oven first).

Mix together sugar and salt.

Bring honey, water, and oil to a boil over medium heat.  Add roasted almonds and stir until all liquid has been absorbed (about 10 minutes).  Immediately transfer to medium bowl and add sugar/salt mixture.  Spread on wax paper and allow to cool completely.

I put the finished product in these little jars that I found at the dollar store.

I also typed up some gift tags on an old typewriter and tied them on with ribbon for the finishing touch.

Cute. Delicious. Homemade!

cookies & crafts.

It's finally December! I'm officially allowed to start christmas-izing the apartment (although I did cheat and put up the tree last weekend!) To kick off the holiday season, my room-mate Brittany and I hosted a cookie exchange and decoration making night.  


We decided to make m&m cookies using a recipe from my friend Linsday's amazing food blog, pink peppercorn (check it out!).  After going to four different stores looking for christmas m&m's, we finally gave up and bought a package of the regular ones - I was set on the cookies being christmas-y though, so Brittany picked out all the reds and greens!

The cookies turned out great!  The only change I made was to switch the measurements for the brown and white sugar (I used 1 c. brown and 1/2 c. white)

We ended up with soooo many delicious cookies - lemon shortbreads, hello dolly squares, oatmeal, and fancy french macaroons!  After recovering from our sugar comas, we started crafting...

Our efforts resulted in some 'interesting' decorations, and a lot of glitter everywhere!  

Not exactly Martha Stewart worthy - but still festive!

kale chips.

My friend Helen recently showed me how to make kale chips.  I'd never cooked with kale before and had no idea what to expect. The first batch was gone within minutes and I'm now totally addicted... I've made them three times this week already!  They remind me a bit of the crispy spinach you find sometimes at Thai restaurants, but healthier.  This version offers a combination of salty and sweet that is completely irresistible!

You'll need:

- 1 large bunch of kale 

- 1 tbsp. olive oil

- salt

- 1 tsp. pure maple syrup (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Tear the kale into small pieces (use only the leafy part and not the stalk).  Wash the pieces in a salad spinner and dry well.

Transfer the kale to a large bowl and add olive oil and maple syrup. Rub olive oil into the leaves, making sure to cover the ends well.

Spread kale onto a baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes.  Check on it often, since it burns very easily.  When done, it should be crispy and may turn slightly brown at the edges.  Transfer to a bowl, salt lightly, and enjoy!

movember.

It's Movember! The time of year when men sprout handlebars, trucker 'staches, and the occasional fu manchu to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer.
I've been wanting to make some moustache cups and shot glasses for a while now, and thought Movember would be the perfect opportunity!


You'll need:
- tall glasses and/or shot glasses (The ones I got at the Dollar Store worked great!)
- oil based paint marker 
- moustache stencils *optional (You can draw these yourself or find some on google)

I made some stencils out of regular paper and taped them to the tall glasses.  In retrospect, a thicker paper would have been better, since the paint bled and smeared a bit.

The black oil based paint Sharpie I used worked OK, but tended to come out in blobs.  Next time, I'll experiment with different paints and maybe get creative with colours.

For the shot glasses, I just free-handed some cute little 'staches.  These were a huge hit at  a cottage get-together this past weekend!