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I made a delicious pasta that required a mix-in of chopped roasted almonds. Having no roasted almonds, but tons of raw almonds, I decided to roast my own plain almonds.

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with aluminum foil
3. Lay your almonds on the cookie sheet in a single layer
4. I coated my almonds with cooking spray to help it retain moisture, but you could also brush on vegetable oil for the same effect
5. Bake in oven for 8-10 minutes

And you’re done! Yummy! I’d like to try this with olive oil instead of cooking spray – I am interested in the flavor differences between olive oil and normal vegetable oil.

After this I used a utility knife to chop the almonds into equal sized pieces, but you could also use a food chopper if you wanted to save time. I sometimes use my KitchenAid Food Chopper – difficult to clean, but faster than a knife and cutting board.

If you’re just building your camping supplies and you don’t want to invest in a series of campfire pokers for marshmallows and hotdogs, try the Firefork! Rather than using a gross stick you found in the woods, the Firefork is attached to the end of this stick, and then you place your food on the end of the clean pokers.

It is pictured with a protective guard on the pokers, of course.

Need to pay with £? Visit pedlars.co.uk for the same deal.

I’m building up my kitchen supplies – I have none of my own since I don’t have my own kitchen yet. I’m always looking for steals and right now Amazon has a promotion – vote for the KitchenAid mixer and you may get a chance to buy it next week.

We’re talking the pro $500 mixer for $69. This is insanity! Vote for a chance on the customer vote page, the last item on round six. This is a steal of a deal! Lasts until December 4, 2008.

Update: Didn’t get selected to buy it. Oh well. Buy the regular priced professional 6 quart mixer at Amazon. Just a note that often times, different colors are different prices.

We all know how bad caffeine is for our bodies – the withdrawal can be torture, and the every day caffeine crash is a nightmare. An article over at zenhabits.net gives us some good ideas to get that morning jolt without the chemical addiction.

Many of items listed are general good health items, such as keeping hydrated to stave off the craving of that caffeinated drink. But one item I had not realized is in regard to vegetables and whole-grains before bed:

Low-Glycemic Foods Before Bed. Mornings can be difficult because your body is starved when you wake up. Eat low-glycemic index foods in small amounts before bed. Low-glycemic index foods are whole grains, vegetables and some fruits. Since I started this practice regularly, I’ve found it much easier to wake up after the first alarm clock ring.

As a P.S., this new Health category will be in regard to eating and cooking more friendly with your body.