Spicy Maple Walnuts

• Candied nuts are a nice addition to salads. Try them on top of a salad made with greens and beets. They are also great on ice cream or with a piece of fruit or just by themselves.
• This recipe has no butter and less maple syrup per nut compared with other recipes.
• I wanted a recipe that used maple syrup and the oven (not a skillet). I also wanted to make a big batch (one pound of walnuts -- that's about 6 cups). For most recipes that meant using a cup or more of maple syrup which would be quite expensive.
• Walnut halves make a great presentation but these are so yummy no one will complain it you use chopped nuts.
• I'm pretty sure this recipe could also be made with pecans or mixed nuts.
• I've made this recipe twice and I'm still playing with the flavorings. Have fun experimenting with you favorite flavors.

Red Quinoa and Cranberry Salad

This recipe is a very loose adaptation of Wild Rice with Cranberries. I deleted the dried cranberries, and increased the walnuts and fresh cranberries.

In my grocery store, fresh cranberries are only available in the fall, so this is a true seasonal recipe -- a rarity in this day and age!

Muffins

Whole Wheat Maple Walnut Muffins with Currants

I've been using this recipe since the 1970s. It's so versatile it could have 100 different names. The original name was Whole Wheat Muffins.

Orange Kiss-Me Cake

This was a favorite childhood cake. My mom prepared the orange mixture in her meat grinder, but I'm pretty sure this will work in a food processor or blender.