Heart Eyes, Vol. 202: Great Inexpensive Leggings and Spicy Brittled Peanuts
Friends! Hello. Happy Friday. I feel like some of you might enjoy hearing how much I am gleefully half-assing, and in many cases ignoring completely, my Advent activity calendar this year. Every morning one of the little paper rings suggests a small, beautiful act of celebration to incorporate into my day. Occasionally I embrace it—listen to the Christmas album, make the hot chocolate—with joy in my heart. Most days, this year, I smile and think “how nice!” and then “…but absolutely not.” My intentions are good and festive! I’m finding joy and spiritual connection in this beautiful season! But my time has been limited and my energy level decidedly low, and my willingness to feel even a little bit of guilt about mostly bailing on this self-imposed practice even lower. It happens! It’s fine!
Whatever you’re doing this weekend, and to whatever degree you’re leaning into or out of winter-holiday festivities—happy Chanukah next week to those who celebrate!— I hope you’re able to hang on to what feels fun or important, and let go of the rest. I think you’re doing great.
What to Wear: Costco Leggings
This feels like what you might call a niche tweet—and yet I feel it’s probably relevant to many of your interests. Here we go: I recently took a risk and bought three pairs of leggings at Costco, and they are GREAT. Two of them are Felina brand, with no pockets, and came in a two-pack; then there’s a single pair of Danskins with pockets. They cost about $10 per pair; all three pairs are buttery soft and have high, wide waistbands. They stay up when I wear them running. They seem to wash well, and haven’t shrunk. They’re 1) wildly comfortable and 2) extremely cute and well-fitting—a definite upgrade from the set of bare-bones cotton ones I panic-bought from Old Navy in April of 2020 and have worn for probably 80% of my waking hours since. I suspect they’re not very size-inclusive—I wear size 6–8 in other clothes and a size large here—but I don’t know how far up the range goes. Anyway, I guess I’m a person who buys clothes along with her giant bags of almonds and jugs of maple syrup now? Maybe you would like them, too.
What to Cook: Spicy Brittled Peanuts
It is a truth not exactly universally acknowledged, but certainly consistent within my own experience, that if you bring any kind of spiced nut to a party, people go crazy. I’ve been nursing this theory for some years, and this week, it happened again: I brought a batch of spicy brittled peanuts (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook recipe #81) to a potluck, watched the word spread (“Who made these??”), and came home with an empty bowl.
These nuts have so much going for them. They’re delicious, obviously—earthy, toasty peanuts coated with a bit of caramel and a bit of spice. Other than the peanuts, they only call for a few ingredients you definitely have in your kitchen. They take about ten minutes to make, and keep like a dream. Maybe you have a gathering coming up, or houseguests on the way, and you would like to make something easy that will make people lose their minds? I’m telling you: spiced nuts.
Spicy Brittled Peanuts
By Deb Perelman from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. flaky sea salt
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP. butter
1/4 cup water
2 cups shelled raw or roasted peanuts, papery skins removed
Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat, or coat it with a thin slick of vegetable oil.
In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda, sea salt, and cayenne.
In a medium saucepan, heat the sugar, butter, and water over medium-high heat, until it just begins to turn golden, 7–10 minutes. Add the peanuts and stir, coating them with the sugar mixture. Keep stirring—the sugar will seize up and get all grainy and crusty, but will eventually melt back into a smooth caramel. Keep stirring until that happens and the nuts are evenly coated, then remove the pot from the heat and stir in the baking-soda-spice mixture as quickly and evenly as you can. Pour the nuts onto your prepared baking sheet, spreading them into an even layer and breaking up any clumps if you can. Cool completely and enjoy.