Maple Mixed Nut and Seed Butter

We spent the weekend cleaning the house and the garage.  Now, to start off with, I think we are pretty clean people.  Well, the illustrator and I anyway.  However, we live with 2 boys and two cats.  So, while I don't blame them for all of the messes, they certainly don't help it out.  Also, I realized that you have to move things often and vacuum under them.  Roomba can only do so much.  Where did all the dust come from?  I do clean regularly.  I won't even go into the mess that is still the garage.

I will blame Luke, the male cat, I love the beefy cat dog but he is a mess!  This picture is from last October so imagine a beast of a manly cat that is all muscle and as sweet as can be.  He is the polar opposite of graceful.  He splashes water everywhere when he drinks!  Does anyone else have a cat that does that?

I would never blame Leia, the girl kitty...she is far too graceful and sweet.  She mothers her brother...thank goodness for her! She is dainty and sweet, but crazy too.  In there defense, they have really high standards to hold up to.  Our Maggie was an angel and no animal will ever compare.

So, with all the cleaning this weekend...we need a weekend from our weekend!  Max has kept me on my toes though.  Ever since he started baking with me this summer, he is on me for the next project.  It is good though because I need to be pushed to do some things.

Take this nut bowl for instance.  It has been sitting around since Christmas (if you look closely, you will see the dust on the bowl).  The illustrator loves these during the holidays, but this year he didn't eat as much as before.  So, with the expiration date looming on these and a few other seeds I have around, I needed to do something with them. I have been avoiding it mostly because I have to crack them and clean them and clean the food processor (and clean the floor from the mess)...Max was willing to help, so it was fun.

I am totally loving the fun time of cooking with him! He is talking about what we are working on and asking questions.  Then he talks to me later about what he learned. If nothing else, I found someone that will listen to my endless babbling about healthy foods and why we eat what we eat...he thinks flax seeds are a miracle food now.  I have pulled one over to my side!  Go me! Back to the food...this was a mixture of pecans, almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, flax meal and hemp seeds.

We blended them all together and I let him choose how sweet he wanted it.  He chose maple syrup and I was surprised that we just put a little in.

He taste tested it along the way until he got it where he wanted it.  This has a really great flavor. I was a little worried about the mixture of nuts, but they all came together well and the maple syrup definitely gives it a great slightly sweet touch.

Have you made your own nut butter?  What is your favorite?  Mine is pecan butter!  It tastes like pecan pie without all the gooey stuff.

Did you cook with your parents when you were a kid? I did and I still remember those times to this day.  Baking muffins are my first cooking memory. How about you?


Thanks Nayoung for the kitty photos!