Salty, Crunchy, Sweet

Make these NOW! No, they're not cleansing. No, they're not healthy. No, they're not virtuous. In fact, you should definitely avoid trying to calculate the sodium content of these salty, crunchy, sweet, mustardy bites. Don't even bother. But they. are. so. good. They're just what I needed after a bad beginning to my work week. They have a pleasing, snappy crunch. They're just a little bit sweet and they satisfy every snack craving bone in my body.




And ... AND ... they are soooooooooooooo easy to make. Just four ingredients, a quick twirl in the oven, a toss now and then, and they're done. So easy. So good. Make them. You deserve them. You also deserve chocolate. Yup, that's right. Do it. With these snacks, I'm not even counting the days till Friday. Happy Tuesday.

Honey Mustard Pretzels
adapted from Country Cleaver
makes 5 cups

3 tablespoons of canola oil
2 tablespoons of honey
1/4 cup of honey dijon mustard
5 cups of pretzel twigs

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil, honey and mustard. Add the pretzels and toss to evenly coat them in the mustard mixture.

2. Spread the pretzels out on a baking sheet and pop them into a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Toss every 7ish minutes. When they're done, they should be a dark, caramely colour and you should definitely smell them.

3. Let them cool (if you can) and store in an airtight container. Snack away!

Hearty Bread for the Road

I just got back from a week in one of my favourite places: Montreal. The city totally stole my heart ... again. Although I'm always happy to be home, I long to be back there roaming the streets, hiking through parks and sitting in quiet cafes. I'll post more about my trip in a little while; I need to wrap my head around being back in Toronto for a bit. For now, I'll leave you with another thyme treat. It's a beautiful, hearty loaf made with sunflower seeds, a touch of honey, lots of thyme and a little grating of lemon zest. There's also olive oil in it, which brings out the lovely thyme and lemon flavours. Hearty, nutty, delicate, just sweet enough. It was the perfect treat to enjoy on the train ride to Montreal.. ooohhh Montreal ...


Sunflower Seed Bread with Thyme and Honey
adapted from Joy the Baker
makes one loaf

2 tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup of yogurt
1/2 cup of soy milk
2 tablespoons of olive oil
zest of half a lemon
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 cup of all purpose flour
a pinch of salt
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
1/2 cup of roasted, unsalted sunflower seeds

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, sugar, egg, yogurt, soy milk, olive oil and lemon zest. Mix until well blended.

2. Sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Mix gently until just combined. Add the thyme and all but one tablespoon of the sunflower seeds and mix one last time.

3. Pour the batter into a loaf pan and sprinkle with the remaining one tablespoon of sunflower seeds. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until the top of nice and golden brown and a cake tester inserted comes out clean.

4. Let it cool for a few minutes and then slice away!