Awww Nuts...

Yesterday I got home from the grocery store and was swiftly met with the question "Did you pick up any snacks while you were out?" "Of course!" was my defensive response but upon further investigation, I had in fact, forgotten to pick up any snack food items.  Instead of having to go back to the store [[I had already spent 2 hours running errands and rush hour was just beginning...I was NOT going back out...]] I rummaged through the cabinets sure that I would be able to find something to quell my husbands hunger until dinner.  All I could find were some end of the season dried soybeans that I had bought because the farmer selling them was really nice.  Needless to say, my husband had to "suffer" a few hours until it was dinner time, but after seeing that I still had that bag of beans, I realized that I needed to get rid of them.

I remembered back to when I had bought the beans, the farmer had given me a little slip of paper with a recipe for roasted soy nuts.  I dug it out of a bin that I hadn't touched since the move and decided to give it a go.  It seemed simple enough.

1. Soak beans for 8 hours or more.
2. Drain the beans, then spread into a single layer on baking sheet. [[use up to 2 cups of beans per baking sheet.]]
3. Bake at 350 degrees F, stirring after 15 minutes, and then after every 5 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. [[the best part about this step is that you get to taste test the entire time you're roasting!]]  The total time will vary depending on the moisture of the beans, but should take about 25 minutes. [[Mine took closer to 45 but I had been soaking them for about 24 hours...so that probably had something to do with it.]]
4. When the beans look like they're getting pretty close to finished, I sprayed them with some EVOO and sprinkled them with a little salt.  That wasn't in the recipe, but it just added a little bit of extra flavor.

And for those of you who don't have 25-45 minutes to stand over an oven, the kindly farmer included a MICROWAVE recipe!

1. Use 1 cup of beans that have been soaked for 8 hours or more. Drain them well.
2. Spread the beans into a single layer in a 9" or 10" glass pie plate.
3. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir, then cook 3 minutes more.
4. After that, cook for 1 minute at a time, stirring after each minute to ensure even browning.
5. When the beans are beginning to get hard and golden, you may want to cook for 30 second intervals to avoid burning them.  Total cooking time should probably take between 9-12 minutes.

So! If you find yourself with a surplus of dried soybeans, try this recipe out!  Also, if you try different spice mixtures out and find a favorite, please share it! I would love to try it!