Simple & Delicious Pretzel Almond Roca

This is a super simple Pretzel Almond Roca Recipe

you can make ahead and freeze for 

Holiday guests 

or 

to satisfy a salty-sweet attack!

To get started,

 I pulled out my copy of our  Family Heirloom Cookbook. 

I made this cookbook for each of our children last Christmas.

I wanted them to have a little bit of home as they all are out on their own now.

They really loved it!

The original recipe I have does not include pretzels, however, I thought adding them would make a delicious salty- sweet combination.

What you will need:

*Parchment paper or tin foil for cookie sheet

*Minature Pretzels (enough to cover a cookie sheet)

*3 sticks of butter (1 1/2 C.)

*1 1/2 C. Granulated Sugar

*1 1/2 C. Sliced Almonds

*1 Bag of Chocolate Chips 

(either semi-sweet or milk chocolate)

*Sea Salt 

(enough to sprinkle a small amount on top)

********************

Line your cookie sheet with the parchment paper.

Spread out the pretzels in a single layer.

In a heavy 2 Quart saucepan, on medium/medium high heat, 

add butter & allow to melt. Add sugar.

Stir frequently as it comes to a rolling boil.

Take a picture with with a steamy lense.

Continue to boil for 2-3 minutes, then stir in most of the Almonds 

(save about a 1/4 C. for later).

Continue stirring frequently.

The color will start to change slowly to a deeper brown.

It will smell a little like its burning, but I assure you it is not. As you continue to stir, you will notice the consistancy change, keep stirring a little longer.

It will be a dark brown and smell like roasted almonds and

even a little like burnt sugar. Its really important that you cook it long enough. You want it to be crunchy when it cools, not chewy. If you have a candy thermometer it will be done at 300*.

 Quickly & carefully pour over the pretzels.

It will not spread very well on its own, so you will need a rubber spatula to press and spread it. 

Work quickly as it will start to set.

While still hot, sprinkle the chocolate chips on the top and let sit for a few minutes.  Come back and spread the melted chocolate evenly.

Sprinkle the remaining Almonds on the top.

Add a dash of sea salt.

Allow a few hours for it to cool completely.

You may want to put in the freezer to speed up the process.

Once cooled and set, use a heavy knive to break it apart into generous pieces.

 Place in sealed container, using parchment paper in between the layers. Keep in the freezer to avoid melting together.

Share with your friends!

xoxo 

Jodi

Grilled Tomato Salsa

Do you have a garden?

Do you have tomatoes coming out your ears?

Have you given them away to all your friends, neighbors

and your hair stylist?

Are your plants leaning over in anguish from the load still on the vines?

Mine too, all two of my plants.

Two? You only have two plants and you are giving them away?

I know that's what you are thinking.

Well, its like this.

My husband loves to garden. 

We have 5 garden boxes and a mound.

A mound of dirt (Izzy LOVES the dirt!) to plant cucumbers or pumpkins on.

He says they grow best that way.

I believe him.
xo 

So, this year I knew he would be gone for the harvest

 (remember...I'm a Navy wife)

So I asked him to just plant 2 tomato plants and one cucumber.

And A LOT of Sunflowers.

Snap peas and green onions.

He added brussels sprouts. They're still there. No takers...

go figure.

I have also been giving away cucumbers like there is no tomorrow.

I do eat a little of all of it, but sharing is so much fun!

But my friends have eaten their share & aren't interested in my sharing any longer.

****

Last week I was staring at the large bowl of fresh picked tomatoes on the counter, 

and then looked outside to my full plants,

and I picked up the phone and called my mother in law.

"June, I'm bringing down tomatoes this weekend".

"No, please don't....I have too many here already".

*deep sigh*
I replied with

"but, nobody wants any more tomatoes and I don't want to waste them,

especially since Jeff would do back flips for a fresh fruit

or vegetable about now"!

*chitter chatter*

*click*

An hour later my phone rang 

"Bring all your tomatoes! 
We're making Salsa this weekend"!

Wooo hooo! Great idea!

So, I packed up my clothes, my puppy, my son and a huge bag of fresh tomatoes

and drove 3 hours south.

One. To make fresh roasted salsa that I can freeze until my husbands return.

Two. So my son can say goodbye to family before we drive to Wyoming for school.

Three. Just because we love visiting them.

***

If you are trying to find another recipe for your tomatoes

here is an easy Salsa recipe!

Grilled Tomato Salsa Recipe

3 large sweet onions: peeled, leave whole

(we tried cutting them in half, and they fall apart while cooking)

3 green jalapenos:  leave whole

*3 red jalapenos*: leave whole

(We used 6 green jalapenos, if you want a hot salsa, use the red as well)

8 large cloves of peeled garlic

(wrap in tin foil with a little bit of Olive Oil to place on grill)

15 Medium sized tomatoes: leave whole

1 large bunch of fresh Cilantro

1tsp. Cumin

1 large lime or lime juice

Salt & pepper to taste

Place everything on a high heated grill.

Allow to blacken, turning as needed.

The tomatoes will get soft, turn gently with tongs.

Remove from grill when black, allow to cool enough to touch.

Cut open the jalapenos, remove stem & seeds & guts.

Remove the stems from cilantro.

Get out your circa 1975 Blender.

Add half of each ingredient to the blender. 

It won't all fit at one time unless you have a large 

food processor.

Squeeze lime juice, add Cumin and Cilantro.
Chop and blend all together.

One recipe will make about 2 Quarts.

We tried a few different batches. We found that the type of tomato makes a difference. My "Early Girl" tomatoes were sweeter than store bought tomatoes.
Also, if you love garlic, I would add a few more cloves of garlic.
This was a fast and delicious Salsa Recipe!
Tell me if you like it!!

Enjoy!!

xoxo
Jodi
PS. on a side note...I saw on the CNN ticker today...
A glass of wine a day may aide in the treatment of depression....
*Cheers*

Have a glass with your salsa & chips!!

The Making of a Family Heirloom Cookbook

Way back in the Early 2000's

when I thought overalls were cool... shabby was 

JUST getting chic...

and I had dried flowers and raffia decorating my the walls leftover from

the 1990's...

Way back when I still had young children in elementary school... 

who didn't cringe with the embarrassment

of mom dropping them off at the bus stop in my pajamas because

we overslept...

(Yes, WAY back then)

I had an idea.

An idea that would make me mom of the year.

Other moms would want to come to my home and sit around the 

dining room table and drink coffee with cream

 and share secret recipes and traditions and stories about their families .

Yes, I was going to make THE most amazing cookbook full of

family recipes, old pictures, and stories of

our very own Green Family Traditions.

Just the five of us.

The family who celebrates EVERYTHING with food.

A little bit of my husbands family...A little bit of my family...

But completely OUR family.

So, 

I woke up in the middle of the night to write down stories that came to me. 

 I daydreamed as I soaked in the bath at night about this

idea that could make me famous.
After all,
shouldn't every home have a cookbook to pass down that includes traditions & history?

My grandma Robbins inspired me.  When she passed away my dad gave me a pile
of her cookbooks. I loved going through them because she always made
a note with the date she made the recipe and who she was with.
It wasn't just a recipe, it was a cherished memory. A family event.
I loved this idea, and I soooo loved her!
(That is an color photo of her original cookbook I have)

 I dug through boxes of old photographs while the kids where at school.

I shopped the scrapbook store and picked out pretty papers.

And I began to TYPE, and SNIP and PASTE and SCAN photo's.

Until about day 5...

That's when I stopped. Just because.

I thought I had a lot of time to get it finished. 

I tucked all my pictures, recipes, stories and famous aspirations into a notebook.

It got pushed aside with the other cookbooks, and moved along with us to 2 new homes. And there it stayed...bits and pieces of my dream to pass onto my children...

until last Fall.

*****

There is something surreal about watching your daughter get married.

The bittersweet realization that she belongs to another family now

as well as her own, and will soon be making

 family traditions with her own husband... and someday children.

I had flashbacks of our family sitting around the dining room

table celebrating Birthdays, Christmas & Thanksgiving and Easter.

I pictured many last days of school and going out for ice cream to celebrate.

Memories of neighborhood traditions on the 4th of July with our friends who were like our family away from home.

Snow days with hot chocolate and toast.

Homemade Raspberry jam with biscuits and sausage gravy breakfasts.

The eager little faces ready to help in the kitchen.

My little helpers were all grown up.

Those moments of catching them with their fingers in the cookie jar had passed....

SO QUICKLY.

****

I knew what I had to do.

Within days of returning from the wedding I dug out that old dusty notebook.

I was determined to make a cookbook for my kids!

Thankfully, there are websites and templates to work from now days.

The thought of all that scrap booking times three books...ugh.

However, in my search for exactly what I needed, 

I noticed there are very few websites that allow you to tell stories, add pictures, 

and add extra pages...and I NEEDED extra pages.

About 70 to be exact.

I finally found a GREAT website that had exactly what I was looking for.

(Totally my own opinion!)

Mixbook.com

My husband joined in, and found all the recipes and I typed them into the template.

I added pictures and stories and traditions from both of our family sides.

It was an honest to goodness work of love!

And the truth is...I'm glad I never finished the book all those years ago.

We weren't done creating family memories of their childhood.

We wrapped them up and gave each child their very own copy of

THE GREEN FAMILY HEIRLOOM COOKBOOK

for Christmas... so that no matter where they go

they will always have a part of their childhood home with them.

xoxo

PS.  In case you were wondering...
Izzy had a great day at the doggy spa!