roasted Archives • New Nostalgia

RECIPES/ Sides

Roasted Strawberries

We have been to our local strawberry patch, RocaBerry Farm, to pick strawberries TWICE this past week. My kids just love going to the patch and hunting for the sweet treasures. The price is great–99 cents a pound! We now have a freezer full of hulled strawberries, which makes me very happy!

{my youngest trying not to step on the berries!}

I was ~~drooling~~ browsing through Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Everyday Cookbook, and came upon a recipe for Roasted Strawberries. I have been a huge fan of Heidi’s online journal, 101 Cookbooks, and knew she would not steer me wrong.

She didn’t. This recipe is super easy to make, and let me tell you, it makes the house smell DELISH! The finished product is unlike your typical strawberry sauce. It is much more concentrated and special. They are perfect slathered on toast, biscuits, bran muffins, or over ice cream.

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Roasted Strawberries

8 ounces small tο medium strawberries, hulled
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1 tablespoon port wine (optional, I didn’t use)
A few drops balsamic vinegar

Preheat thе oven tο 350F wіth a rack іn thе middle οf thе oven.

It іѕ valuable tο υѕе a rimmed baking sheet οr large baking dish fοr thіѕ recipe—уου don’t want thе juices to run οff thе sheet onto thе floor οf уουr oven. If уου аrе bу a baking sheet, line іt wіth parchment paper.

Cυt each strawberry іn half. If уουr strawberries аrе οn thе large side, сυt thеm іntο quarters οr sixths. Add thе berries tο a mixing bowl. In a separate small bowl, whisk thе maple syrup, olive oil, аnԁ salt. Pour thіѕ over thе strawberries аnԁ very gently toss tο coat thе berries. Arrange thе strawberries іn a single layer οn thе prepared baking sheet.

Heat fοr аbουt 40 minutes, јυѕt long enough fοr thе berry juices tο thicken, bυt nοt long enough fοr thе juices tο burn. Watch thе edges οf thе pan.

WhіƖе still warm, scrape thе berries аnԁ juices frοm thе pan іntο a small bowl. Stir іn thе port аnԁ balsamic vinegar. Uѕе immediately οr Ɩеt сοοƖ аnԁ store іn thе refrigerator fοr up tο a week.

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Need more strawberry inspiration?

How about Homemade Freezer Jam? or Homemade Fruit Leather?? MMMMmmmmm.

RECIPES/ Sides

Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas!!

**This is a guest post from my girl Erin @ A Bird And A Bean
I just made her recipe tonight and I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!! My Todd is too, they are so crunchy and awesome, we loved them.

From Erin @ A Bird & A Bean

I found this recipe in the January issue of All You. I seriously love these little things. I’m eating them right now! They are so easy and you can flavor them with ANYTHING you want. We’re on New Year’s Resolution diets around here and so these are GREAT for me. I crave ‘crunchy and salty’ way more than ‘sweet’, so these are perfect!

They’re really good for you, too. Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are a great source of folic acid, fiber, and protein. Plus they provide an excellent source of molybdenum, which is a trace mineral that’s needed for the body to detoxify sulfites! (I need this since sulfites are in red wine!)

I made them for our football party last night and it really kept me from eating junk. You can flavor them with any spices you like. I am posting the recipe just as it is in All You, but I’ve seen lots of different versions online.

I used Curry powder and Chinese Five Spice (a spice blend with star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cassia and ginger…it has all five flavors that we can taste in it) in my batch last night and I LOVE ’em. I used Garam Masala (an Indian spice blend that has yummy cumin, coriander, cardamom, pepper and cinnamon) last week and that was super tasty too. I figure using these fun spices makes this little snack even healthier since things like turmeric, ginger, cinnamon etc…. are so good for helping to prevent cancer, diabetes, arthritis and even Alzheimer’s.

I might try using a packet of chili seasoning to make a more “normal” version for the hubby next time. 🙂 I think a sweet and salty ‘kettle corn’ version would be good too. All you would need to add is a little sugar and a little salt.

Prep Time: 2 minutesBake: 50 minutesYield: 2 cups (serving size: 1/4 cup)Cost per Serving: $.36

What you need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 15 1/2-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained, thoroughly patted dry

What you do:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil. In a large bowl, combine olive oil, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, salt and pepper. Add chickpeas and toss to coat thoroughly. Turn chickpeas out onto baking sheet and roast, stirring or shaking baking sheet often, until chickpeas are browned and crunchy, 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and let cool before serving, stirring occasionally.