Spicy Almonds? Yes please!

A few weeks ago I found a recipe for spicy almonds. I thought they looked pretty good, so I decided to make them as party of my holiday "baking" extravaganza. This recipe is amazing! The nuts are so good, my roommate and I could hardly stop eating them and I had to make another batch. So I decided to share the love. If you don't have some of the spices (such as ground coriander), some health food stores sell spices in bulk, meaning you can purchase as much or as little as you would like. That way, you don't have to plunk down $3 or $4 for a whole jar when you only need less than 1 teaspoon. Here is the recipe, courtesy of the Martha Stewart Holiday magazine. Trust me, this is fabulous. Enjoy!

Spicy Almonds
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 cups whole almonds (about 10 ounces)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spread almonds on baking sheet at toast in oven for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (until browned and slightly dark).
2. In large bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, and spices.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, bring butter, molasses, and vinegar to a boil. Add
toasted almonds and stir to evenly coat. Add nut mixture to spice mixture; toss to coat. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and spread in a single layer.
4. Bake nuts 4 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks (assuming, of course, they last that long!).

Mucho snow in Vegas!

So tonight I got a text from my dad that said "It's official. Hell has frozen over." Turns out, Vegas is pretty much snowed in. Well, not exactly. But when you have several inches of snow on the ground and no way to get it off, it might as well be snowed in. My parents were outside shaking snow off their (desert) trees and trying to prevent them from collapsing. The power went out a few times during the day. My dad said the driveway needed to be shoveled, but he doesn't own a snow shovel and apparently a big broom isn't terribly effective. So the driveway has become a bit treacherous. One of my sisters is in Boise, Idaho and her flight to Vegas was canceled this evening because there was too much snow on the runway in Vegas and they have no way to get it off. On top of it all, the schools have a snow day tomorrow! I know this is cliche, but this situation feels very surreal!

On a different note. . . I have been meaning to post pictures from Thanksgiving for a really long time, but it just hasn't happened (obviously). So if you are really dying to see what my Thanksgiving looked like, here is the link to my Picasa album.

Brrr!!!

Today I received an email, a few texts, and a phone call from my family informing me that it was snowing in Las Vegas! Snow in Las Vegas is fairly rare but not unheard of. I remember it snowing at least 4 or 5 times over the past 20 or so years. But apparently it is really dumping on them . We have been affected by the same storm system as it moves south from Utah (where I understand it left quite a trail!). While we certainly haven't received snow, temperatures in Phoenix have dropped quite a bit and it has been raining here off and on all day. You know you are accustomed to desert weather when you are quite chilled by temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s. It is funny, but it almost seems beyond my comprehension that I have to dress for colder weather. I really have to consciously remind myself to grab a jacket and hat when I leave for work in the chilly morning (before the sun comes up) and to avoid the short-sleeved, thinner fabric shirts I am so fond. I am so out of the habit, I can't seem to pick that habit back up again! Fortunately, cold weather only lasts for a month or so, and then we are back to what makes Arizona so fetching - warm weather! :)

Aarghhh!

My office is only about 5 miles away from my house on the same major road (I live on Thomas & Hayden and work on Thomas & 44th). With morning traffic, I can usually get to work in 10-15 minutes. My current assignment has me working in downtown Phoenix a few days a week. Traffic in Phoenix is horrid, particularly when headed to downtown. Fortunately I live right by a freeway on ramp so it doesn't take long to get on the freeway, but I have to leave my house by 7 or 7:10 (at the latest) or else I spend at least 15-20 extra minutes on the freeway. Today I had to work downtown, but I was running a little late and didn't get on the freeway until about 7:20. To get to work I take the 101 South about 2 miles to the 202 and take that straight into downtown Phoenix. As I was approaching the 202 interchange this morning, I noticed 3 things at about the same time: (1) My gas light came on (I suddenly realized that thanks to a pressing Relief Society need, I forgot to get gas last night), (2) the line to get onto the 202 was MUCH longer than it should have been, and (3) I could see the 202 in front of me and it was pretty much a parking lot. I got in the line to merge and immediately heard there was a car wreck on the 202 about 3 miles from the interchange. At that point the only think I could do was pray that I wouldn't run out of gas on the freeway in traffic, as the next exit was about 1 mile away. For the next 20 minutes or so (yes, it took me 20 minutes to go 1 1/4 mile), I watched the gas needle slowly sink closer and closer to the dreaded dark line until I finally made it to the first exit. I assumed that there would be a gas station right off the freeway so I could gas up and go. See, that's one of the peculiarities of Phoenix. For some reason, there are seldom gas stations right off freeway exits. Anyway, I finally found a gas station and filled up. My car takes 15 gallons, and I put 14.5 gallons in the car. It was a much closer call than I thought! After filling up I took surface streets for a few miles to avoid the traffic jam on the freeway. Of course, I was joined by roughly half the motorists in Tempe, so it much longer than expected. I guess the bright side to all of this is that once I got back on the freeway, most of the traffic was still stuck several miles back, so it was pretty much smooth sailing all they way downtown. All told, my 25-30 minute commute took me nearly 1 hour 15 minutes this morning. One of the joys of American life - traffic jams. What a way to start the day!

Elder Wirthlin

I want to recognize the passing of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, who passed away early Monday, November 1st. He was an apostle (a leader) in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a wonderful man. I always looked forward to hearing him speak in General Conference. His talks were never flashy or overly emotional and often appeared fairly simple. But the more you read and pondered his talks, you realized how deep and enriching they were. His remarks reflected a deeply kind and loving heart - someone who clearly lived the higher law taught by Jesus Christ, someone who loved God and loved his brothers and sisters. I have a few memories of Elder Wirthlin I would like to share. One of the most touching General Conference moments I have ever seen was during the October 2007 session when Elder Wirthlin gave his marvelous talk, "The Great Commandment." He was not feeling well and started to shake quite severely, making it very difficult to deliver his message. Elder Russell M. Nelson stood up to support sweet Elder Wirthlin so he could finish delivering his remarks, and at that point I couldn't help it - I started crying. I don't think I have every openly cried during a General Conference talk before. You could just feel the love and genuine kindness oozing out of him, even as he could barely finish giving his talk. This may sound weird, but watching Elders Wirthlin and Nelson made me want to be a better person. I will always remember that moment. The other fond memory I have of Elder Wirthlin is a talk he gave in 2002 entitled "Follow Me." He spoke of the importance of casting aside our nets, as the apostles of old, and following the Savior. Simple as that analogy may be, it has stayed with me for many years.

During my teenage years and early 20's, the LDS Church had no turnover in the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve. This was a very formative time period for me, as I was gaining my own testimony in the troublesome teenage years, learning how to be an adult in my college years, striving to be a diligent missionary, and going through so many other changes. I grew to deeply love and respect those men and that group of leaders will always have a very special place in my heart. It has been difficult to see so many of them pass away over the past few years. However, I am so grateful for their service. They have all, including Elder Wirthlin, left a deep mark on my spiritual development and for that, I thank them.

I have put a link below to some of my favorite Elder Wirthlin talks.

"True love lasts forever. It is eternally patient and forgiving. It believes, hopes, and endures all things. That is the love our Heavenly Father bears for us.

We all yearn to experience love like this. Even when we make mistakes, we hope others will love us in spite of our shortcomings—even if we don’t deserve it.

Oh, it is wonderful to know that our Heavenly Father loves us—even with all our flaws! His love is such that even should we give up on ourselves, He never will.

We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today. Our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won’t, for He sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of transformation. It takes us as men and women of the earth and refines us into men and women for the eternities."

- Elder Wirthlin, October 2007 General Conference

"Follow Me"
"The Great Commandment"
"The Virtue of Kindness"