Mocha Roasted Almonds

It's rainy and chilly here today in Portland and I'm loving it! I decided a yummy smelling snack needed to be made in my oven today and these Mocha flavored Roasted Almonds fit the bill! They only take a few ingredients and about 40 minutes of your time (they also make a great Holiday gift. You know, if you're thinking about that already.).

To make you own Mocha Roasted Almonds you will need:

2 1/2 cups Raw Almonds
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 egg white

Preheat your oven to 325 (F). In a small bowl (3 cups or more by volume) beat your egg white until it is just frothy and beginning to lighten. Add in your almonds and mix them around until evenly coated with egg white.

In a zip sealed bag, mix together your sugar, cocoa and espresso powder. Shake until evenly combined. Add in your egg white coated almonds and shake to coat. Pour onto a sheet pan lined with parchment or a silpat mat.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes or so (this will clump together a bit if not stirred often- you can break it apart after it has cooled if necessary). Make sure you line your pan, as the mixture will stick to the pan if you do not (melting sugar just does that, you know).

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before packaging. Eat these as a snack on their own, or put them on ice cream, cupcakes, etc. as a delicious topping!

If giving this as gifts, an easy way to package this is to put it into clear bags and stick that into one of these little boxes as shown below. You can find them at most craft and hobby stores (paper mache boxes would also work well.). Just tie it with a piece of colored ribbon and you have an easy yet cute treat box that is reusable!

Have you made any extra yummy snacks lately?


Don't forget to follow The Craftinomicon on your favorite social media site so you don't miss any upcoming food and gift ideas!

Friday Food Craft: Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad

Welcome to another yummy food craft everyone, and HAPPY FRIDAY! This week I decided to take a step away from desserts and give you this yummy roasted vegetable and Orzo salad. It's great for picnics, tastes great hot, warm or cold and you can change it up with whatever veggies happen to be in season. It can be served as a side, or even as a whole meal itself, I'm a big fan. For this version of my pasta salad I use zucchini, roma tomatoes and an orange bell pepper as my veggies. If you want to do this gluten free, feel free to substitute quinoa or rice for the pasta (I'd recommend the quinoa as I have used it in the past with great results).

To make some yummy roasted vegetable pasta salad for yourself you will need:

1 small zucchini (about 8" long and 1-2" across)
1 medium Orange Bell Pepper
4 Roma Tomatoes
1 pound (16 ounces) Orzo, or other pasta

2 ounces chevre
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


You will start by washing, slicing and roasting your veggies. In good weather you can certainly substitute grilling for oven roasting your veggies, but alas, I am without a grill here in my tiny apartment, so slow roasting in my oven is what I had to do. I cut my tomatoes about 1/4" thick, the zucchini about 1/2" thick, and just cut my pepper into about 4 pieces. A very light drizzle of olive oil may be used on top once you arrange your veggies on a sheet pan, as well as a tiny bit of salt and pepper, you don't want to over season at this stage.

TIP: I hate cleaning my pans when I roast things, so I cover them with a layer of foil and just throw all the grossness away off of my pans when I am done.

Heat your oven to 225 degrees and roast your veggies for about 2 hours. You may want to flip your zucchini as it can get pretty dried out if you aren't watching. I always give the zucchini an extra little brush of oil to keep it from drying out.

Once your veggies are done, let them cool for about 20 minutes. You want to be able to get the skin off of your peppers and tomatoes without burning yourself (which will be very easy after slow roasting them by the way, fear not). Remove any skin (it will be shriveled on the outside of your veggies and look rather unappealing anyway) and then dice into your desired size. I generally don't dice up the tomatoes much as they fall apart on their own when stirring everything together at the end.

Prepare your orzo or quinoa according to your package and drain thoroughly. In a separate small bowl, stir together 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil and 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar to form an emulsion. Place your veggies, pasta and dressing together in a serving bowl and toss together. Add salt and pepper to taste, then a sprinkling of chevre. Enjoy!