Honey-Rosemary
                   Glazed Nuts

These honey-rosemary glazed nuts are completely irresistible and thoroughly satisfying.  This has got to be the easiest, most delicious and distinctive, way I have ever prepared nuts.  You may be questioning the bewitching combination of sweet and savoury, but the pine like flavour of rosemary and honey work very well together.   The nuts come out of the oven crunchy and caramelized.  The house smelled wonderful…the robust aroma of the herb rosemary is unforgettable and was historically used for strengthening memory!  Our plain nuts don’t stand a chance with this honey batch in the house.  Nuts are a valuable food and a good source of essential fatty acids, vitamin E, protein and minerals.   This makes an excellent snack, special occasion treat during the festive season and a great gift idea for the holidays. 

  Ingredients:
(adapted from oh she glows)

2 ¼ cup mixed, unsalted nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, peanuts)
2 Tbsp Rosemary, fresh and chopped coarsely (about 2 sprigs)
Pinch cayenne
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp cane sugar
1 Tsp unrefined sea salt

1.Preheat oven to 350 F.  Spread nuts onto baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  First roast nuts plain for 10 minutes.
2.  In a saucepan melt the coconut oil and add honey, cane sugar, salt, rosemary and cayenne.  Mix well.  Pour toasted nuts into saucepan and toss to coat well. 
3.   Pour nuts onto prepared baking sheet, space out well and bake until golden and thickly glazed, about 15-20 minutes (flip nuts about half way through).  Cool nuts and store in glass jar.

Note:  You can use any combination of nuts you like.  I threw in some pumpkin seeds, but found they browned much faster and darker than the nuts, fortunately they didn’t burn and were still good to use. 

  Whole Food Sneak Peak:
                  Rosemary

Rosemary’s name means “dew of the sea.”  It is legendary and holy spice.  It is told in biblical stories, had traditional uses at both weddings and funerals (sprigs placed on the graves of loved ones as a symbol of remembrance), used in hospitals to cleanse the air and prevent disease and today used in cuisines all around the world.

Rosemary is a member of the mint family.  It is an evergreen shrub with an ash-coloured scaly bark and short leaves that look like flat pine tree needles with a deep, sage green color on top and a silver-white color on their underside.  It has a pine-like flavour that is counter balanced by a rich pungency, that evokes both the deep forest and the open sea.  Its memorable flavour makes it an essential herb every place food is prepared.

It has high essential oil content and contains several potent antioxidants, such as rosmarinic acid, carnosic acid and carnosol.  Together they make rosemary one of the most powerful antioxidants on earth.  Studies on rosmarinic acid have shown that it can act to reduce inflammatory responses – making rosemary potentially useful for people with inflammatory conditions (rheumatoid arthritis, bronchial asthma, atherosclerosis). 

Rosemary accents the flavour of many meat and acts as a cancer guard for the grill.  It guards your health by keeping away unwanted intruders known as HCAs (carcinogens). 

Rosemary also contains substances, such as flavonoids and volatile oil that are useful for stimulating the immune system, increasing circulation and improving digestion.  It has been shown to increase the blood flow to the head and brain, thus improving concentration (and memory).  It appears that rosemary may even be powerful enough to protect your skin from sun damage.  One study found that just breathing rosemary essential oil reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol in a group of volunteers. 

Choose fresh rosemary over the dried form, as it is superior in flavour. 

Rosemary is a perfect choice to season any food, such as potatoes, roasted  veggies, omelettes, fish, lamb, tea and bread.