Nuts! Or in this case, legumes… I love cashews. Buttery and sweet these things don’t last long in our house. I made deez nuts for our trip. I’m writing this from our flight to Orlando. We are about to spend the next weekish in the “happiest place on earth”! Well, I don’t know about happiest… It seems as though there are lots of children crying there. I also see this kind of checked out, vacant look on the faces of the adults. It’s a mixture of bewilderment and overwhelmed exhaustion. You know where the real happy place is? I’ll tell ya, it’s at the pool… There’s a bar there. I’m not completely serious, though I do sometimes wonder what the incredible draw is. We are VERY lucky. The Rock Star plays the food and wine festival in Epcot every October, as a result, we get to have a family vacation! We take my parents with us and we eat dinner at the stage and play in the parks and the resort for the majority of each day. After the show we get to view the fireworks from a private viewing platform… This is special stuff and it’s not lost on me. I know that some people save for years to be able to have a trip like this and I need to check my head sometimes to make sure that I don’t take it for granted.

One thing I’ve learned in that last few years is that snacks are imperative. Everything Disney is ridiculously priced and and afternoon snack can be a $40 ordeal. So, each year I get better at this part which makes me happy because, not only am I saving money but I am also putting better food in the bellies of my family. I needed some items that were delicious, easy to carry and wouldn’t need refrigeration. I also wanted something that had special and unique flavors because, let’s be real, the overly salted and sugared park food isn’t exactly gourmet. These nuts (DEEZ nuts! Haha still not old!) are for the grown ups. Lightly sweet with the flavors of Orange, ginger and coriander kicked up with a hit of cayenne! Yaaassssss! These flavors are on point, yo! Let’s talk about coriander…

   This is an underused ingredient in the American kitchen. The seeds of cilantro, these little pods have a soft floral and slightly citrus thing going on. Do not be surprised if I bring this to you in the form of a cocktail someday soon!
You will need the following:

• 2 1/2 cups raw cashews
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1 Tbsp finely grated orange zest
• 2 tsp ground (freshly ground if possible) coriander
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, toss together cashews and corn syrup until evenly coated. Set aside.   
3. In a small bowl combine remaining ingredients. Sprinkle over the cashews and mix thoroughly making sure spice mixture is evenly distributed.  
4. Spread in a single layer over the parchment paper, separating nuts as well as possible. Bake for 15-20 minutes until nets are golden and syrup mixture is bubbling around the edges.  
5. Carefully slide parchment off of the baking sheet onto and counter. With two forks, work quickly to separate the nuts from each other. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container for up to two weeks or in the freezer for two months.