Antique Fair, La Torta and Spiced Pecans

Today Ned and I hit up the La Mesa antique fair. It was so gorgeous, a little warm, but a perfect day for an outdoor fair in cute little La Mesa Village. Nothing too exciting for sale, but I did pick up a vintage party cookbook from Betty Crocker, I just love those old hand drawings and old-fashioned recipes (hot cross buns!). We also visited with our aunt Tina and had a quick lunch at the newly-reopened La Torta. So good, Ned and I hadn't had tortas before - I know, how retarded are we?

I've been cooking a lot on Sundays, and today I'm trying some spiced nuts! My neighbor Cyndy gave me the recipe over the holidays but I hadn't got around to making them until now. It's one of those fabulous low effort, highly yummy recipes that's also semi-impressive. I thought they'd be a great dessert to have on hand, as I realize I have to cut back on my Godiva habit. Recipe follows, I adapted it a bit. I only had pecans and peanuts, but I think you could use just about any nut. (Peanuts didn't taste good until the next day, needed time to get crunchy again.)

Spiced Nuts
1 large egg white
2 Tbsp water
3 to 4 cups nuts
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp allspice
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
sprinkling of salt

1. Preheat oven to 250.
2. Beat egg white with water. Add nuts and stir until moist.
3. Combine dry ingredients, mixing well. Add nuts and stir until coated. Spread nuts on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally (your time may vary, so check on them). Cool completely before storing.

Check out the original recipe here.

They can also be frozen, and they thaw in only a few minutes! Enjoy and happy Sunday!