Earl Grey Apple Sauce with Roasted Vanilla Walnuts

This is a combination of two new recipes I tried over the holidays.

I didn't intend for them to go together, but once I had them both made, combining them sounded good. And I was right. They're great together!

First, I found the applesauce recipe at FoodMayhem a few months ago, but haven't had the chance to make it. It's quick, simple and satisfying. I didn't find the Earl Grey overpowering, either. I'm a big fan of Earl Grey tea, so I would've been OK with it if it did add a strong flavor, but it turned out subtle and tasty.

4 Apples, peeled and chopped into slices
1 cup of water
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 bag of Earl Grey tea with the tag and string removed.

1. Combine apples, water, sugar and salt in a pot & bring to a boil
2. Submerge the tea bag in the water, stir so that the apples cover it
3. Reduce to a simmer & place lid on pot for about 15 mins or until most of the water has simmered off.
4. Discard tea bag.

At this point, you can mash if you'd like, but I didn't. I left the apple slices whole.


Roasted Vanilla Walnuts

I found this recipe at Elana's Pantry & it's wonderful.

Since we have 2 cars in the shop & the one functioning vehicle we have is tempremental and cranky, we weren't able to give the kind of gifts we really wanted to give this year. we're broke. so I made muffins and cookies for our families. After our daughter opened all of her presents, I was browsing on foodgawker & came across this and it was perfect! I, amazingly, had all of the ingredients in my pantry & whipped these up in 5 mins flat! I added some to each gift bag along with the baked goods & a jar of home made tomato soup.

Ingredients:

2 cups raw walnuts
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar (honey could probably be substituted for non-vegans)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 -2 vanilla pods, split and scraped, or about 1/2 a teaspoon of the beans
dash of cinnamon

1. pour the olive oil in a skillet & turn on high.
2. add the walnuts & stir so that they are coated
3. when they start to sizzle, turn down the temp to med/low
4. add agave nectar & stir until nuts are coated.
5. let the nuts sizzle slightly for a couple of minutes, then stir in the salt
6. add the vanilla beans and stir until walnuts are coated
7. add dash of cinnamon & stir

transfer to a plate & allow to cool.

I'm so in love with this recipe and I keep thinking of all the ways I could eat these. Mostly, I've just been eating them by the handful, but they're great added to the apple sauce. I'm pretty sure they'd go well with sweet potatoes and oatmeal too.