agave nectar

A Sundae For Sundae Lovers

August 29, 2012 | 22 Comments

In the category of favorite suggestions ever made to me, I place the following:

“You should always eat what your body is craving, because the body craves what the body needs. Your body is never wrong.”

Love it. Love it. Love it.

I wield this powerful tool like a ninja. A samurai. A sword-bearing, armor-plated, enabling Knight of the Round (and copiously overflowing) Table.

I use my sword to justify the eating of bacon (My body is craving bacon! It must need salt and pork products!), the drinking of chocolate milk (My body is craving chocolate milk! It must need artificially sweetened dairy-based beverages!), and the snacking of M&M’s (My body is craving M&M’s! It must need some chocolate that will melt in my mouth and not in my hands!)

So, you know, when I started craving an ice cream sundae like nobody’s business the other day, I knew that this was an urge that I needed to satisfy: I’m clearly suffering from some sort of ice cream sundae deficiency.

Filed Under: Frozen Tagged With: agave nectar, bacon fat, banana chip, cajeta, caramel, custard, ice cream sundae, maple syrup, recipe, sweet

Roasted Walnut Butter

August 20, 2012 | 10 Comments

I’ve recently been crushing on nut butters. Hard.

What’s not to love?

I love making nut butters.
I love gifting nut butters.
I love canning and storing nut butters.
Oh, and I love eating nut butters.

Filed Under: Condiments & Salsas Tagged With: agave nectar, canela, cinnamon, gluten free, peanut oil, recipe, salt, spread, sweet, walnut butter

Pinto Bean Blondies

May 17, 2012 | 35 Comments

Who’s the official wackypants in your family? I know you have one – I’m pretty sure it’s a rule of nature.

You know who I’m talking about: that uncle, cousin, sibling, what have you that shows up to family functions wearing a pirate costume and speaking in Klingon? Or maybe a particular parental unit who insists on a quick line dance when the Muzak version of Katy Perry’s latest comes on in the lobby of your local bank.

“I kissed a teller and I liked it… ” (No, I am NOT the official wackypants of my family.)

I have a personal theory that this wacky behavior is disguising sheer genius. I developed this theory from studying my own family’s official wackypants, Aunt S.

Aunt S. enjoys rosé wine, Hawaiian folk music, and Maroon 5′s Adam Levine. Not necessarily in that order. Preferably all at once.

Aunt S. has been inspiring and confounding since I was wee.

Aunt S. is responsible for the brilliance that is these Pinto Bean Blondies.

All hail Aunt S.

Aunt S. and I communicate via the written word (because texting, emailing and phoning are all just too normal) so I wasn’t surprised to receive this latest letter. There was chit chat, there was family news, and then there was a brief mention of ‘Blonde Brownies’. Aunt S. made hers for a friendly gathering out of only 1 can of pinto beans, puréed, and 1 box mix of Pineapple Supreme Cake.

Liking stuff from scratch a little more and pineapple a little less, I decided to make a few adjustments. But the seed was planted. That ingenious little seed.

Filed Under: Bars & Brownies Tagged With: agave nectar, blondies, brown sugar, butter, eggs, maple syrup, pinto bean, recipe, sweet, vanilla extract

Chocolate-Dipped Agave Bars

April 17, 2012 | 19 Comments

Not a lot of words today. Just a few pictures.

Pictures telling the story of a clumsy batch of Agave Nut Bars that tripped and fell into some melted chocolate.

Really? Be more careful, lil’ Agave Nut Bars! What if you’d fallen into a pot of my mole negro?!? Uh… whatever. More on that later.

Filed Under: Bars & Brownies Tagged With: agave bar, agave nectar, butter, chocolate, light brown sugar, pine nut, pinyon nut, recipe, sweet, vanilla

Prairie Berry Bake

October 26, 2011 | 37 Comments

Below is a tutorial on behaving like a starstruck dummy in front of your personal idol.

Read closely! The author of this tutorial is a proven expert.

By the end of this piece, you, too, can be on the gilded path to self-humiliation in the presence of those whom you admire most – total embarrassment is just seconds away!

So what are you waiting for? Class is officially in session.

Step 1: Make a good first impression with crazy hair.

Look at you go! You’ve already got this down.

It doesn’t matter that you just stood in line outside for four hours in the middle of the windiest day on record for the Phoenix area. No! You were sure not to pack a hairbrush, and that was clearly the right thing to do.

Crazy hair. Crazy girl. What’s not to love, right?

Filed Under: Crisps, Crumbles & Pies Tagged With: agave nectar, Barefoot Contessa, blackberry, custard, fruit, heavy cream, Ina Garten, pear clafouti, recipe, sweet

Honeycomb Sesame Seed Brittle

September 19, 2011 | 24 Comments

I really like board games. Does this make me a dork? I’m thinking yes.

The thing is, if loving board games is wrong, I’m not so sure I want to be right.

Bring me your Yahtzees, Parcheesis, Strategos and Battleships. Oh, sweet Battleship.

D2. D3. D4. D5.

I just sunk your battleship.

An important factor in successful board game play is the food that you choose to fuel your victory.

Candy is one of my favored options.

But I will admit that I don’t care for store-bought saccharined out candy.

No, after the Great Jolly Rancher Phase of 1992, my taste buds converted to rustic, homemade candies. They are so much more fresh and flavorful. Just like this brittle.

You may be asking yourself what sesame seeds have to do with southwestern cuisine – they’re actually often used as thickening agents in moles and other sauces.

I like the flavor of sesame because it’s subtle, and I like the crunch of the seeds.

What better way to punch up some brittle candy?