Candied Things

Candy-ing is something people used to do to preserve things. To be really science-y, it enhances desiccation and creates an unfavorable environment for bacteria. Takes some moisture out and keeps it from going bad. Y'know, like salting or curing. Only with sugar. Glorious sugar.
Follows is a recipe but, to break it down, you are going to simmer sliced citrus in a simple syrup.

What to do with these beautiful fruit-gems? Eat them! Yum. Roll them in sanding sugar for a pretty decoration on cakes. Chop them up and use them in cookies or batters. Cover them in chocolate and, yes, eat them.

Candied Lemons

2 cups sugar
2 cups water

2 lemons (or other citrus), sliced thinly - 1/8-1/4"

Bring sugar and water to a simmer over medium heat. Add in lemon slices. Simmer for 45 minutes to an hour until slices become translucent (see photo below).
Carefully remove lemons from syrup (use tongs or a small sieve), drain and dry on racks with parchment underneath to catch the sticky stuff.
Store in an airtight container for about a month.

Please be careful with boiling sugar syrup. Boiling sugar syrup is Lava. Lava really hurts and leaves nasty blisters down your legs and feet. Just sayin'.

Candied Nuts

Tons of ways to candy nuts, including using egg whites, boiling in sugar syrup or even frying. I like this way because it is simple and doesn't use a lot of ingredients. And I love the flavor when they are toasted in the oven.

2 cups of nuts (walnuts, pecans, whatever)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment, spray liberally with non-stick spray.

In a small pot, combine water and sugar. Stir with heatproof spatula or wooden spoon,until sugar is dissolved. Add in nuts, fold together with sugar to coat.

Spread onto cookie sheet in a single layer. 

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until nuts are toasted. 

Cool completely before eating them! It's worth the wait.

Feel free to break up the nuts as they cool, with your spatula or spoon, to keep them from clumping together. The sugar coating will get hard as it cools completely and its harder to break them up once they're cool.

Store in an air-tight container for up to a month.

'dees nuts.

Again, great in baked goods or covered in chocolate or just eat them as they are. 

Cheers <3

Breakfast Prep: Blah-Blah-Blah- Protein Muffins

Everybody loves a good muffin in the morning. The kind filled with butter and sugar and.. dare we drool over some freshly made tender-crisp struesel... Ah the butter. The BUTTER. Just... not every day.
Realistically, there are much better, healthier options. This is one of them. Filled with protein and good-for-you stuff, they'll help keep you energized throughout the day and keep those awful sugar crashes at bay. And they taste good, duh.
These are a simple, one bowl, sort of deal. So, whatever you happen to have in stock in your pantry, such as leftover ingredients from whats-on-sale-at-Trader-Joe's Granola. Totally not advertising for them but... seriously one of the best places to get inexpensive dried fruit, nuts and seeds. Check em. Meanwhile... Muffins...
Specifically: Peanut Butter Chocolate Craisin Pumpkin Oatmeal Protein 'Muffins' Yeah, okay, you can just call them Oatmeal Protein Muffins. The other stuff is basically customize-able. So I'll break the recipe up into two parts, the Base and the Add-ins. Note that whatever Add-In's you end up using, it should equal up to about 1.5 cups of stuff. Too much and they wont set properly, will be super crumbly. Too little is no fun.

Oatmeal Protein Muffins

This recipe makes about dozen regular sized muffins. 

The Base (all about that.. yeah.. ok sorry)
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin (OR 1 c applesauce OR 2 bananas OR 1 c greek yogurt [or combination thereof])
1/2 cup peanut butter (none of that sugary junk, buy the Natural. Check the label for sneaky sugar!)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 c Chia seeds
1/4 c protein powder (I used chocolate)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups almond-coconut blend milk (or, yknow, milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt


The Add-Ins
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate
1/2 cup craisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix together Base ingredients.
Fold in Add-Ins.
Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray.
Spoon batter into tins- you can fill them to the top, they won't rise much.
Bake 30 - 35 minutes until set.
Cool completely and wrap any leftovers.
Good for about a week.

Try this:
Spread this batter in a loaf pan and bake it. Oatmeal Protien Loaf, yeah. Slice and toast. Spread with butter, because butter. Give it another 10 or 15 minutes in the oven to set. I've never done this but.. seems like it would work fine. Somebody try it and let me know.