#Everybitcountschallenge Day 9, 9 August 2022 Five Spice (Star Anise) Honey and Toasted Pecan Honey

A couple of lightweight items for the Pantry shelf today.  It has been terribly hot again here today, and when it is hot I tend to lose momentum and energy.  Even though I have been doing a few things it has not involved the cooker much and have been sitting down every so often because of the heat.

 Five Spice Honey

I use up veg from the fridge a lot in stir fry meals.  Sling the ingredients all together jobs which seem to work, either using up remnants of chicken from a roast or buying in chicken breasts and cubing them down.  I like a variety of ingredients to complement those dishes.  Five Spice Honey makes a lovely glaze for Duck and Chicken when you want a bit more flavour.

Basically you take a clean jar and about 3 whole Star Anise.  Pour in honey part way add a Star Anise, then honey again, then Star Anise and finally honey.  Put lid on and keep in a cool place in the Pantry.  I do not use the ground spice for this honey.

Sorry no photo for this one as for some reason photo would not load.

Toasted Pecan Honey (that really should be Nut Honey)

I love this little preserve as it is so useful for fresh fruit like Figs, as a topping for ice cream, drizzled over goats cheese, goat's cheese toasties dribbled with fresh herb oil,  porridge, can be  used in cakes and cookies.  It is also a handy little gift to give away at Christmas as a Kitchen Gift.  You are not restricted to Pecan nuts either.  You can use almond, walnut, hazelnut, Brazil nuts.  We should all include nuts in our diets, and I think this little preserve gives anyone free licence just to be a little bit naughty.

All you do is get a quantity of nuts.  I toasted mine in the bottom of a frying pan, dry frying very quickly as this releases the oils and the flavour that little bit more by warming it through.  I then add in nuts to a clean sterilised jar and then build up in layers with honey and a few nuts until near the top of the jar, before sealing with the lid.  These little treasures do not last too long in this household.  They are rather moorish!

I have another packet of nuts to put in this jar, but as camera has been playing up I thought it better to have a photo rather than not at all.  The jar will be filled after this is posted.

Toasted Sesame Seeds

I basically buy a bag of Sesame seeds and toast them under the grill until they are just golden.  

The plain seeds laid out on a baking tray.  I used the grill for this.

Nice and Golden.  You could toast them a little more if you wished.

I then pop them into a medium sized jar and use them sprinkled over the top of home made yogurt or indeed add to porridge and granola and you end up with the most wonderful nutty flavour.  

I do not prepare them all and tend to just make up a jar full at a time as the others will keep safely on the shelf. If I leave some plain then I can make up some honey and sesame seed crisps to go with some vanilla ice cream.  Simple things often bring the most pleasure. 

These are just some of the things I do to vary the pantry shelf a little bit more in the colder month and to add a bit more interest to my food.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

x.