Raisins and Almonds

Ten ways to enjoy almond butter

A is for Almond Butter! Because we so enjoy this delectable spread straight from the spoon we’ve been playing with other possibilities.

Here are ten more ways to use almond butter. 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 1.Make the childhood treat, Ants on a log. Fill celery sticks with almond butter and press in some raisins. For red ants on a log, press in dried cherries.

2. Stir in a natural sweetener (we love maple syrup) and use this to fill crepes.  For even more of the Nutella effect, first blend chocolate sauce or melted, bittersweet chocolate with the almond butter.  For an ice cream topping, blend equal parts melted chocolate and almond butter with a little amaretto, heavy cream, agave nectar, and a pinch of salt.

1.     3. Spread almond butter on crackers and top with a green pepper or hot pepper jelly, (often sold at farmers’ markets) or another jelly or spread.

   4.   Blend 1/4 cup almond butter with ½ cup of hummus. Season to taste with zatar or fresh herbs.  

The flavor is further enhanced with a tablespoon of pepper jelly or roasted, marinated red peppers. Serve with raw veggies or crackers.

5.   Make almond buckeye candies.  Blend 1/2 cup almond butter with 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, and 1 teaspoon Amaretto or vanilla. Form into 1-inch balls and chill. When firm spear each ball with a toothpick and dip into melted bittersweet chocolate. Cool on waxed paper or parchment and refrigerate.

 6.   Spread almond butter on crisp apple wedges.

7.  Bake gluten-free brownies, recipe at Elana’s pantry http://www.elanaspantry.com/brownies/

8. Bake Joan’s “Melt-in-your-mouth” raisin and almond cookies, recipe posted here 7/13/2010.

9. Stir plain or sweetened almond butter into oatmeal or another cooked cereal.

10. Whip up Joan's almond butter milkshake

5 scoops vanilla ice cream (coconut milk vanilla is a non-dairy option)

About 1 cup milk or milk alternative

2 Tbsp almond butter

2 Tbsp good dark chocolate syrup (used santa cruz organic)

A pinch of coarse sea salt

 

Blend in a large glass using an immersion blender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peach and Basil Iced Tea

Posted by Joan

A huge crop of basil this year keeps me working out new ways to use it. This recipe for peach, basil, and lime iced tea was inspired by two basil recipes from Food 52: peaches poached with basil http://www.food52.com/recipes/5500_peaches_poached_with_basil and basil and lemongrass Iced tea http://www.food52.com/recipes/5620_basil_and_lemongrass_iced_tea
I drink a lot of iced herbal tea in the summer, and this seemed like a winning combination that would also use my fresh basil. This brew is sensational! The basil tempers the strong peach flavor, and the honey adds just enough sweetness. The lime brightens the blend, making it a perfectly refreshing summer drink-- one that I can drink all day.


Ingredients
Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion herbal tea: 4 bags
Fresh basil, a large handful
Honey
Fresh lime

1. Steep the tea and basil in a pot with about 4 cups of boiling water.
2. While steeping add a spoonful of honey and a good squeeze of limejuice.
3. After about 10 minutes or so strain into a carafe. Serve over ice cubes.

The Very Best Fruit Crisp

posted by Joan 

One of my favorite summer desserts is a fruit crisp with a variety of sliced fresh fruit, tossed with some sugar and flour. The topping is a mix of oats, flour, butter, sugar and chopped nuts. The fruit releases a lovely smell  as it bakes. 

1. Prepare the fruit
6 fresh apricots, sliced and pitted
1 box of fresh, local blueberries
4 red plums, peeled, pitted, and sliced
2 Tbsp. raw cane sugar
1 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
A squeeze of lemon or lime juice 
Mix the above ingredients and put into a shallow, greased casserole pan. 

2. Mix the topping

In a food processor mix:

½ cup oats

2 Tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour

2 Tbsp. butter

3 Tbsp. raw cane sugar

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Optional: ¼ cup pecans 

3. Combine
Sprinkle the dry mixture over the fruit and bake at 375 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes, until golden brown.  

Serve with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt. 

My daughter Rebecca and I often sample this straight from the pan, as soon as it is cool enough to eat. Leftover, cold fruit crisp is very good for breakfast, with a dollop of yogurt and cup of strong coffee. 

 

Melt-in-your-mouth raisin and almond cookies

(Posted by Joan)
I have become an ardent lover of almond butter, especially an organic maple version made by Justins nut butters. http://www.justinsnutbutter.com/shop.php

Here is a recipe based on “Maple almond butter cookies” from http://sweetandnatural.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/maple-almond-butter-cookies/

It happens to be vegan: no egg, butter or honey. I could not stop eating the dough as I dropped spoonfuls on the cookie sheet. These are even better than peanut butter cookies (my former love.)

Recipe
2/3 cup maple-almond butter (or ½ cup almond butter and ½ cup maple syrup, well-blended)
1/4 cup agave nectar
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup golden raisins

Preheat the oven to 350F.
1. In a large bowl, combine the maple-almond butter, agave nectar, coconut oil and vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the whole-wheat pastry flour, baking soda and salt.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, along with chopped almonds and raisins, and stir until just combined.
4. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheet.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes.


 

Summer vegetable curry with raisins and almonds

(Posted by Ann)
 This is an adaptation of the wonderful masala chicken recipe  from Claudia Roden’s Book of Jewish Food. It features summer squash and oyster mushrooms in place of the chicken.

 
1 large onion coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons oil (I used 1 each of grapeseed and sesame) for the onions
additional oil and a pat of butter for sautéing the squash and mushrooms
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 to 2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
1 tsp turmeric
1/2tsp cumin
½ tsp nutmeg
2 or 3 sprigs fresh basil, leaves torn or snipped into small pieces
4-6 small yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
1/2 pound fresh oyster mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper
6 new potatoes, small to medium (up to 1 pound total): peeled and cut up
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp sugar
¼ cup ground or sliced almonds
2 tablespoons raisins
handful of pea pods or green beans
half and half

1. Fry onion in oil until soft, stirring periodically to keep them from sticking to the pan.
2. When onions are turning golden, add the garlic, grated ginger, turmeric, cumin and nutmeg .
3. Stir and cook for a minute before adding the potatoes and coconut milk. Add sugar, salt and pepper, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 minutes until potatoes are tender.
4. While potatoes are cooking, sautee the squash in a frying pan, using just enough oil to film the pan. Cook until the squash is partially browned, and then remove from pan.
5. When potatoes are soft, add the basil, almonds and raisins
to the potato mixture and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile sautee the sliced mushrooms in oil and a half-tablespoon of melted butter, until they are soft and slightly brown at the edges.
7. Add the squash and the mushrooms to the potato mixture and stir.
8. Taste for seasonings, but now you must put it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours for the flavors to miraculously blend and develop It is well worth the wait!
9. After the long rest period, the potatoes will have absorbed the liquid. There are several serving options. Cook the pea pods or green beans until crisp tender.
Option 1—Serve as a cold salad on a bed of lettuce, garnish with the peapods or green beans.
Option 2: Add a little half and half or more coconut milk and serve as a thick cold soup, with the pea pods or green beans floating on top.
Option 3: Add a little half and half or more coconut milk and heat, to serve warm over rice or rice noodles.

Our culinary heritage

Welcome to Raisins and Almonds, a place for sisters Ann and Joan to share our culinary creations and food adventures. We chose the name "Raisins and Almonds" to honor our Grandmother, Rebecca, whose greatest joy was cooking and feeding delicious food to her loved ones. She transmitted to us her legacy of eastern European recipes, and introduced us to the taste of a vanished world. She also carried a treasury of folksong from Krynki (then Russia, now Poland) to the new world and at bedtime sang us the classic Yiddish lullaby, Raisins and Almonds. We treasure our memories of watching her at work in the kitchen, of smelling the aromas of onions sizzling in chicken fat, and of tasting the rich flavors of our favorite latkes and potato kugel. We can still see her rolling the dough and cutting out her sugar cookies with a drinking glass.