Sweet & Spicy Pecans
1 large egg white
2 cups unsalted pecan halves
2 cups unsalted roasted cashews
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon water in a large bowl until foamy. Add the nuts, sugar, cumin,
cayenne, cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon salt and mix well. Spread the
mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until the nuts are
mostly dry but still slightly sticky, about 40 minutes.
Remove the nuts from the oven and stir. Reduce the temperature to 200 degrees F. Return the nuts to the oven and bake until crisp, about 30 more minutes. Stir to loosen the nuts from the baking sheet; cool completely on the sheet.
So...speaking of 'nuts', today I present Lady J and her perspective on Critter People.
____________________________________
I was trying to decide what to write and I thought I would
give you a little more info about me... I know, just what you were waiting for!
First, I had better admit that I am a Critter Person, my
family are Critter People, my friends are Critter People; pretty much everyone
I know is a Critter Person. We have
always had dogs and the odd cat (or several odd cats) when I was growing
up. My mom loved Westies and we had
several of those little white monsters, we also had a huge German Shepard named
Comanche and a Scottie named Paddy (after Paddington the Bear).
I truly believe that if you don’t like animals then you are
not to be trusted. I don’t mean that if
you don’t own any you can’t be trusted... but if you don’t at least like
animals then there is something just a little bit off about you. If you’re not a critter person you may not be
interested in my search for the perfect family member...
When I bought my first house 13 years ago I knew that I
could finally get my first dog. I ended
up bringing home a 1 year old female Westie named Katie, she was followed a
year later by my first Scottie named Brinna (SanDen’s Lady Brinna) and then my
male Scottie named Percy (SanDen’s Sir Percival the Black). I had that little pack of 3 for many years
until I lost Katie at the age of 11 to cancer (two weeks after I lost my mom,
how’s that for timing), then in April of this year I lost Brin very suddenly
and unexpectedly at the age of 9. Percy
went from being the baby of the family to being an only child and neither of us
seemed to like it much. The search was
on for a new addition.
Attempt #1... I contacted a great Scottie breeder in Calgary
who had a 10 month old male who she had kept to show but he had grown a bit too
big, it didn’t take much convincing for me to take him home and give it a go...
disaster. He was a beautiful and gentle
boy and Percy HATED him, they had a huge fight after about three weeks and I
ended up with a bite almost through my thumb when I tried to separate
them. I don’t know who bit me and I know
that it wasn’t on purpose but it bled like a bugger and my family room looked
like a crime scene... blood on the floor, blood on the shutters, the full CSI
police taped scene. After a trip to the
clinic I ended up on antibiotics and painkillers. Poor Bhodi had to go back to the breeder but
he now has a fabulous home in Arizona!
Attempt #2... the Westie breeder where I got Katie from had
a year old female who was too small to meet the breed standard and she wanted
to find her a good home. I took Percy up
to meet her and they seemed fine, she was shaking when I was holding her but
the dogs seemed okay in the backyard. As
soon as I got her home she turned into Cujo, she absolutely loved me but she
was 12 pounds of white fury directed at Percy.
He’s not much of a fighter and he wouldn’t even come in when it was
raining because she would attack him. I
called the breeder the next morning and she went back less than 24 hours after
she arrived. I should explain that Percy
is epileptic and I didn’t want him to be stressed and have a seizure.
Attempt #3... after a few weeks had passed I was on-line
looking up breeders and breeds and I came across a listing for Cesky
Terrier. Cesky Terrier... what the hell
is that??? I’ve been a terrier girl for
most of my life and I’d never heard of them so I googled some images and fell
in love, so cute! I read all about them
and thought this could be a great match for Sir Percival and me. Unfortunately I also found out that they are
one of the rarest breeds in North America.
I looked at some breeders in the US and most of the sites said that
puppies were spoken for before they were even conceived... this was going to be
more difficult than I thought.
I found a breeder in Canada (Ontario) called ZalataPraha
Terriers and sent her an e-mail with my story and pictures of my dogs and some
info about me, she sent me a reply that she would be home the next day and to
give her a call. We talked for about 2
hours and she, very subtly, grilled me like a cheeseburger! At the end of the call she said that she had
kept 3 females from her last litter to let them grow up a bit before she
decided which one she was going to keep for showing and breeding. She had just decided which one she was going
to keep and she thought I would be an excellent home for one of the other two,
I had just totally jumped the queue! Two
weeks later Miss Isabella arrived via WestJet and fit in perfectly, Percy loved
her, I loved her and she loved us! My
little family was complete again.
I can’t imagine not having dogs, I’m single and they are my
family... I’m not a crazy dog lady, I don’t dress them up, wheel them around in
a stroller or tote them around in my purse.
I just love them and they are part of my family.
So, for all of you critter folks here is my furry family
album. If you have pictures you’d like
to share of your furry friends please send them to me at ladyjyyc@shaw.ca
Katie – Crossed the Rainbow Bridge Dec. 8, 2009
Brin – Crossed the Rainbow Bridge April 9, 2011