Candied Almonds

Put some Candied Almonds in a salad and you won’t believe the reaction you get.  They make an ordinary salad extraordinary. I’ve started putting them in this summer salad.  And if I put strawberries in a salad, the whole house is happy.  Well, almost the whole house.  My son doesn’t eat vegetables or fruit so we won’t count him but it makes my husband Jim and my daughter very happy.  So today, in honor of Father’s Day, I added not only strawberries and shredded Jarlsburg cheese to my salad of Spring Mix and spinach greens, but candied almonds too.  Lot’s of happy faces around the table tonight. 

Candied Almonds

2 TBSP sugar

1/2 cup sliced almonds

In a dry pan over medium heat, mix the almonds and the sugar and stir until the sugar starts to melt and using a heat proof mixing spoon, continue to stir until the almonds start to brown and the melted sugar coats the almonds.  Warning:  there is a fine line between perfectly coated almonds and burned almonds.  And once you burn them, the taste is ruined and you will have to start over.  So, take it slow!  And be warned.  These get really hot.  Don’t be tempted to pop one in your mouth to taste test.  The natural oils in the almonds and the hot melted sugar will scorch your tender mouth.  Don’t taste till they are cool!

 

   Once your almonds are nicely coated, spread them out on something non-stick to cool.  I just got one of those silicone mats like a Silpat.  The one I went with is called “Fat Dadio’s”.   It was cheaper and I liked the name.  Works just like it should.  NOTHING sticks to it.

Parchment paper works good for cooling too.  After they cool, break them up and store them in a cool dry container if you have leftovers.  

Then, assemble your salad, and finish with your favorite dressing. My favorite for this salad is my Sweet and Sour Dressing that I posted on the blog quite a while ago. It’s really good with the strawberries and the sweet almonds. I’ve included a link for the dressing recipe.

And there you have it.  A delicious summer green salad with strawberries, cheese (Shredded Mozzarella  or Swiss are also good here) and candied almonds.   

And before I go, I just want to say thanks for the kind notes checking on me.  I’ve  let a lot of time slip by since my last blog post.  All is good.  Sometimes, despite all of your carefully laid plans, things don’t always go the way you expect them to.  I hate it when people leave cryptic messages on their blogs or on Facebook making people wonder what’s going on and I really didn’t want to do that here so I haven’t said anything.   It’s  nothing big,  just lots of little things throwing me for a loop . Life just decided to heap it on in these last few months and slowly things are getting back to normal.   So thanks for sticking with me!