By The Juárez fund hit twenty-six thousand in November. Four thousand from the target. Four months to go if the Rosa's Kitchen dinners continue (they will) and the bakery profits continue (they will, because Sofia's spreadsheets don't lie and the spreadsheets say the profits will continue). The building renovation quotes are in: twenty-two thousand for the renovation (plumbing, wiring, kitchen installation, painting), three thousand for equipment (used ovens, a mixer, display cases — Sofia found them at a restaurant supply auction and negotiated the prices down because Sofia negotiates everything, always, forever), and five thousand for operating capital (six months of rent, utilities, and Lupita's salary until the bakery generates its own revenue). Total: thirty thousand. Target: thirty thousand. The math works. The math has always worked. The math is Sofia's religion and the religion is exact.
Thanksgiving 2024. Thirteen people at the table: me, Luis, Luis Jr., Ana Cristina, Isabella, Sofia, Diego, Camila, Carmen, Mr. and Mrs. Montes, Lupita, and Concha the dog. Thirteen is the largest number yet, and the largest number requires the most food, and the most food is the most love, and the most love is the Thanksgiving.
Camila's grace, year nine: "Thank you God for the food and the thirteen people at this table and the ones who aren't at this table but are at the bigger table in heaven, and thank you for the Anapra bakery which is going to happen in 2025 and I hope You're planning to attend the opening because we could use the publicity, and thank you for my voice which is getting deeper and which I am using for good, and thank you for Concha the dog who is asleep under the table as usual. Amen." God has been invited to the Anapra bakery opening. For the publicity. Camila is now managing God's PR schedule. The child has no limits.
I made flan and the turkey and the caldo and the enchiladas and Andrea's tamales (year three — she is good now, the tamales are almost as good as mine, and the almost is the compliment, because almost-as-good-as-Maria-Elena's is the highest rating in the Gutierrez tamale hierarchy, and the hierarchy has Rosa at the top and the top is unreachable and the unreachable is the goal). Lupita made her first Rosa's Kitchen dinner contribution: the appetizer, empanadas de calabaza, made from the recipe I taught her three months ago, and the empanadas were excellent. Not quite Rosa's. Not quite mine. Lupita's. A new hand on an old recipe, and the new hand is the spreading, and the spreading is the whole point.
Lupita brought the empanadas that year, and I brought the flan, and somehow there was still a moment before dinner when thirteen people stood around the kitchen with nothing to do but wait and talk and reach for something — and that moment is what spiced walnuts are for. I’ve put a bowl of these out every Thanksgiving for years now: they take twenty minutes, they smell like the holidays the second they hit the oven, and they disappear before the caldo is done. This is the recipe I keep coming back to when the table is full and the love needs somewhere to land first.
Spiced Walnuts
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 20 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 2 cups walnut halves
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat. Heat your oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the spice mixture. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, salt, and black pepper until the sugar is mostly dissolved.
- Coat the walnuts. Add the walnut halves to the bowl and toss well, making sure every piece is evenly coated in the spiced butter mixture.
- Spread and bake. Pour the walnuts onto the prepared baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 12–15 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the nuts are fragrant and the coating looks set and slightly caramelized.
- Cool completely. Let the walnuts cool on the pan for at least 10 minutes before serving — the coating firms up as they cool. Serve at room temperature in a small bowl.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 215 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 9g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 115mg