Beer Boiled Peanuts

I’ve been looking for green peanuts so I could boil them and haven’t had much joy until I found some at Publix. Yay to me.

The recipe I used this time is scaled down from the recipe I’ve posted before as I was only able to find the smaller bags and I didn’t want to spend all day over the Dutch oven. Cooking them in the slow cooker is very easy.

Super flavorful and mega delicious.

2 lbs of green peanuts
1 quart of beer – about 2 ½ bottles
¼ cup Old Bay Seasoning or Zatarain’s Shrimp and Crab Boil
3/4 cup kosher salt (I used Morton Coarse Kosher Salt)

Rinse the peanuts and remove any stems, sticks and empty shells.

Pour the beer into the slow cooker with the salt and seasoning. Pour in 3 additional quarts of water. Stir to dissolve the seasoning. Place the peanuts into the slow cooker being careful not to splash the salty liquid everywhere. Cook on high for 4 to 6 hours or until peanuts are softened and flavorful. As they soften, they will sink so that is another way to tell that they’re getting done.

Good boiled peanuts are salty and briny but if the peanuts are too salty, remove some of the boiling liquid and replace with an equal volume of water. Taste again after an hour. Conversely, if they require more seasoning, add salt and seasoning in 2 tablespoon amounts, let cook and taste again.

To freeze, place in zip top bags. I store mine in pint bags. Place frozen peanuts in a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. After 5 minutes of boiling the peanuts will be warm and ready to eat.

Honey Tea Cake

I am getting a lot of recipes passing by my social feeds for Rosh Hashanah. I was intrigued by the honey tea cakes in particular. They all looked delicious but I knew I had to make a couple of tweaks. Most seem to have almonds on top but I’m much more of a fan of pecans. Many also use Earl Grey tea but as I love the flavors of Constant Comment, I used two of those bags.

If you use 3 mini loaf pans, they won’t nearly overflow like these. Even with the impressive size, they taste wonderful. Light and flavor but not too sweet. Perfect for a tea break or just to enjoy with coffee.

Have a good and sweet year! Shanah tovah um’tukah!

Steep 2 black tea teabags in 1/2 cup of water (I used Constant Comment)
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
½ teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup of vegetable oil
½ cup honey
½ cup of toasted pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil 3 mini loaf pans or 1 large one.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Mix eggs and brown sugar. Whisk in oil and then honey and mix until smooth. Add flour mixture, whisking to combine. Stir in tea.

Pour batter into loaf pans. Sprinkle top with pecans. Bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

These cakes freeze well, just wrap in plastic wrap and place in a zip top bag.