Friday, August 31, 2012

Going Homemade!: Nut & Seed Butters

In the course of a week, the chest cold and the coughing has taken its toll. My physical body’s condition, while less than ideal, has not affected my mental or emotional health. I am more driven than ever to do the things I need to do day-to-day to ultimately get to where I want to go. I’m letting go of old habits, donating material possessions to others who need them more than I do, and cleaning up both externally and internally.

I may be coughing and not able to climb or practice Vinyasa, but I’m quite happy with my life. My first week of school gave me the impression that I was exactly where I needed to be, having professors and peers that are going to challenge and inspire me, introduce me to a higher level of learning and observation, and look on as I enhance my knowledge of conflict resolution.

So, with all this going on in a such a short span of time, I am quite behind in recipes. I spent the majority of my days sleeping and reading, slurping soup and drinking tea. I did not venture outside the home only when completely necessary, and even then it was for quick errands. The kitchen was my haven in creating warm meals and drinks, but I didn’t have the energy to ready my camera and position the lens, let alone writing down the recipes. But I have a feeling September will be the month to start the fall off with an abundance of recipes and insights, adventures near and far, and yours truly back in the peak of health.


For three weeks, I’ve yet to buy nut butter, canned beans, and kefir, and revel in how different they taste when made from scratch. I don’t have digestive upsets because I’m soaking my legumes and grains (both in whey and apple cider vinegar). I’m buying the majority of my produce from farmers markets and am pleasantly surprised how much fuller and more nourished I feel. Coffee is slowly being removed from my system, and I’m starting to actually hear what my body is saying.

In all of these changes, I hear it say “Thank you.”

 “Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos - the trees, the clouds, everything.” (T. N. Hanh)

The thing with making your own nut butters and spreads is how vast the amount of different recipes you can come up with. As I said, I haven’t bought nut butter in three weeks, all because of these recipes:

Roasted Salted Almond Butter (an Ashley classic at the Edible Perspective)

280 g Raw, unsalted almonds
1/2 tsp. Sea salt

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
Spread the almonds on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Roast for 22 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic, stirring 2 to 3 times.
Remove and add to your food processor and process, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Process for 6 – 12 minutes, continuing to scrape as needed. 
Once it is smooth and creamy, add the salt and process for another minute or so until it is at the desired consistency.

Makes 10 servings.

This recipe was the beginning of the end for me. An end of buying pre-made nut butters forever. It was so simple and tasted so different than its plastic-jarred cousin, I had to see what else I could make. My Creative Mind called for a challenge: a nut-free spread. Alas, I ate it all before snapping a photo, but I will definitely be making sunflower seed butter and pepita spread respectively.

Multi-Seed Nut-free Butter

150 g Pepitas, raw and unsalted
150 g Sunflower seeds, raw and unsalted
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
12 g Sesame seeds
10 g Chia seeds
2 g Poppy seeds

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
Spread the pepitas and sunflower seeds on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Roast for 22 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic, stirring 2 to 3 times.
Remove and add to your food processor and process, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Process for 6 – 12 minutes, continuing to scrape as needed. 
Once it is smooth, add the remaining ingredients and process for another minute or so until it is at the desired consistency.

Makes 10 servings.

This is certainly an experiment worth trying, especially for those who can handle seeds but not nuts in their diet. It was savory in taste, but it tasted wonderful on fruits and grains regardless.

Finally, I decided to work with walnuts. I was delighted by the marvelous consistency it has as a spread, and how little time it took to liquify in the food processor!  It has a strong flavor, but I loved that particular quality.


Sweet Cinnamon Walnut Butter

300 g Raw, unsalted walnut pieces
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
Stevia, to taste (optional)

Preheat the oven to 300ºF.
Spread the walnut pieces on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Roast for 22 – 25 minutes, until golden brown and aromatic, stirring 2 to 3 times.
Remove and add to your food processor and process, scraping down the sides as necessary.
Process for 3 – 5 minutes, continuing to scrape as needed. 
Once it is smooth, add the remaining ingredients and process for another minute or so until it is at the desired consistency.

Makes 10 servings.

Stay tuned for more nut/seed butters and spreads! If you have any cool combinations of flavors (say, Curry Almond Butter or Pumpkin Spice Pecan Butter) you want me to try, leave your suggestions in a comment below. Oh, and don’t forget to say what you have it with.

Monday, August 27, 2012

It's Quiet... too Quiet

There are a few things I’ve learned since limiting my daily coffee intake (currently 120 ml, and will be 30 ml less in a week): one, how coffee had pushed my adrenals; two, how much my body had been pushed and for so long; and three, how my body is truly feeling.


Right now, my body is healing from a lot of abuse I didn’t know it had been suffering.

Last week was the last week of camp. 9 1/2 hours working with children each day put teachers in an all-new light of respect in my eyes (especially those in the K – 6 range). All of Saturday was slept, as well as the majority of Sunday. And then there’s today, my first day of school.

Graduate school, that is.

Despite the hectic workweek and literally doing a one-eighty in my life, I still have been playing around in the kitchen. My first jar of fermented veggies (recipe to come later) was devoured, with the second in the fridge (recipe also to come later). There’s homemade nut butter, soaked black beans and rolled oats, whey just waiting for lacto-fermentation, and finally, a jar of  the remaining sourdough starter I had from making pancakes.

“Homemade” has certainly gone up a notch in this household.

Sourdough Buckwheat Bread

120 ml Filtered water
120 g Greek yogurt
240 ml Sourdough starter
200 g Buckwheat flour
1 tsp. Sea salt
1 tsp. Baking soda

Combine the ingredients (except the salt and baking soda) in a mixing bowl and cover to sit at room temperature overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
Add the remaining ingredients and let it rest for another 10 minutes (it should bloom slightly).
Pour the batter into a parchment-lined 12 x 16” baking pan* and bake for 30 – 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for fifteen minutes before serving.

Makes 8 – 16 servings depending on use.

I treated this as “sheet bread”, something to cut into squares and slice in half. It made a delicious sandwich bread option, and it was equally delicious to eat wholly. This recipe would also do well as a skillet bread and flatbread, but monitor the baking time.

Another thing I made with the starter was pizza. Yes, a sourdough, grain-free and vegan crust with a multitude of veggie toppings. Omit the cheese if you must, but I still think pizza was made for breakfast.

Grain-free Sourdough Veggie Pizza

For the crust:
500 g Sourdough starter
120 g Garbanzo bean flour
14 g Coconut flour
1 tsp. Sea salt

Mix the ingredients and let it sit covered at room temperature for twenty-four hours.

For the toppings:
120 g Pizza sauce*
90 g Parmigiano-Reggiano
Veggies, by preference
15 ml Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
Press the dough onto a 12 x 16” baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Ladle the sauce in the center and spread thinly, followed by the cheese, the veggies, and sprinkle with olive oil.
Bake for 10 minutes, and then reduce the temperature to 400ºF to bake for an additional 10 – 15 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for ten minutes before using the parchment paper to carefully transfer the pizza onto the counter for slicing.
Serve hot.

Makes 6 – 8 slices.

* When I went on vacation to Bedford, the family visited the DelGrosso Amusement Park, a place where rides and Italian cuisine unite! The majority of the their sauces are gluten free, but one particular sauce didn't have added sugar or soy. I had to try it out, and it certainly made this pizza yummy!

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Decompressing it all

I can’t even begin to describe August, and even if I can there is no way I can give it justice. So many good things came from the whirlwind that blew past: meeting with family and making chosen family, my further understanding of food and fermentation, farmers markets, working with an amazing group of kids, taking a course or two in the fall as a non-degree graduate student, and finally taking charge of my life.

 It’s time I grow up.


After my weekend in Toledo with new-found chosen family and coming home with new ambitions and goals, I finally have someone with an outside view to help me make sense of it all. It’s dizzying, gratifying, and very much necessary that I hold onto my own power and make things happen for me. But since this is the last week of camp, I am focusing on my 9 1/2 hours with the kids, and doing my best to not get wrapped up in the waves but to ride them in style.

In order to do this, I’ve been eating wholesome, tummy-happy foods and experimenting with soaking grains. My house has seen them as porridges and congees, puddings and simply eating from the jar. Besides my Sweet Beet Steel Cut Oatmeal, I made the multi-grain congee I said I’d make last year and a savory oat dish that I was very happy with.

Multi-grain Congee shown on the right
Multi-grain Congee

45 g Brown rice
50 g Teff
42 g Quinoa
45 g Steel cut oats
40 g Rolled oats
48 g Wild rice
45 g Forbidden (Purple) rice  
Filtered water
15 ml Unrefined apple cider vinegar

Soak the ingredients overnight to twenty-four hours (the longer, the better).
To see how I make congee, click here.

Makes 7 servings.

This particular congee was deliciously sweet, and the perfect base for apple chunks, coconut flakes, peanut butter, cacao nibs, and chia seeds. Butter and coconut oil can be interchanged depending on your preference or dietary lifestyle.


For some reason, the United States usually sees oatmeal as a sweet phenomenon. Even the savory ingredients used, such as carrot or pumpkin, only amplify the natural sweetness of the oat grain. I made quite a delicious dinner last week consisting of steel cut oatmeal, stir-fried leafy greens, and egg, and was determined to try and get my beloved rolled oats into the savory category of my palate as well.

Though I was no longer the Art Specialist for camp, I did work with such a wonderful team of staff and kids alike. These kids are thought of having “special needs”, which only means that there are some things they need to work on more in a classroom dynamic. I learned a lot from them, especially how we’re all not so different and the beauty of patience, but it still took a lot out of me.


To keep myself balanced, I made a lovechild of chicken soup and chicken with dumplings. It was one of those lunches I didn’t think much of… until I took a bite. This is definitely something to make for those sick days you need to use up for work.

Savory Chicken Oatmeal

40 g CGF Rolled oats
Filtered water
5 ml Unrefined apple cider vinegar
2 Chicken tender pieces (or whatever chicken you happen to have on hand that equals a serving), cut into bite-sized chunks or left whole
1 Celery rib, finely chopped
1 Small carrot, finely chopped
25 g Petite peas
1 Small white onion, finely chopped
3 Garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Salt and spices, to taste

Soak the oats in the filtered water and cider vinegar for twenty-four hours or more.
Pour the oats into a small saucepan with additional filtered water and cook on low heat until thickened.
In a small cast iron pan (or stainless steel pan if you have it), cook the remaining ingredients with enough water to cover (my chicken was frozen, which gave the stock an amazing depth of flavor and stayed in nice cubes after cutting into pieces).
Allow both pans to bubble (watch it so they don’t burn) and check on the chicken and vegetables to ensure doneness.
Pour the oatmeal in a large bowl and top it with the other ingredients.
Serve hot.

Makes 1 serving.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Who Needs Yeast When You Have Sourdough?

Growing up, I loved a good slice of sourdough bread. I loved how it soaked up condiments, how it made the perfect piece of toast. It had this sour, yeasty taste that I couldn’t get enough of.

That was years ago, obviously, since my beloved sourdough bread was most certainly the gluteny kind. And recently, I’ve started to realize how baker’s yeast and I don’t really get along, so I thought I’d never have yeasty bread ever again.

Until Sandor Katz’s Wild Fermentation, that is. Seriously, this book is changing the way I prepare and eat food at every meal. Canned beans? Uh-uh. Grains not soaked? No way. Baker’s yeast in bread? Not anymore!

Thanks to his recipe for sourdough starter, I didn’t need anything but my choice of flour, filtered water, some dried fruit, and a warm place to let it sit for a week (i.e., the kitchen countertop).


Buckwheat Sourdough Starter

500 g Buckwheat flour
500 ml Filtered water
40 g (5) Prunes

Place the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined. Add more water until it has the consistency of a thin batter. Cover with cheesecloth and stir twice a day, preferably in the morning and the evening. After a few days it should bubble and then bloom. Continue to feed it with buckwheat flour every couple of days until you’re ready to use it.

And boy, did I use it. 

Buckwheat Sourdough Pancakes

45 g Buckwheat flour
100 g Filtered water*
30 g Buckwheat sourdough starter
1 Large egg
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/4 tsp. Baking soda

Mix the flour, sourdough starter, and water in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined, and let it sit covered with aluminum foil or saran wrap overnight.
Add the remaining ingredients and let it bloom for an additional 5 – 10 minutes.
Put your skillet or griddle pan on medium heat, grease with your preference of a fat (I used butter but you can use other fats for a dairy free option), and pour in the batter like you would normally do when making pancakes.
Serve warm, with homemade almond butter and apple butter on top.

Makes 1 serving.

* I tend to make thinner pancakes, but if you like them thick, just use 60 ml of water instead of 100 ml.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Can't BEET this Oatmeal Breakfast!

I am soaking grains like it is going out of style. I haven’t quite wrapped my head around how much my digestion changed by soaking and fermenting. Sprouting is still very iffy, as the buckwheat and crimson clover’s mucilaginous tendencies made using mason jars not such a great idea. The red lentil, on the other hand, turned out just fine, though it took some effort getting them out.


Back to the drawing board, I suppose, but at least I’ve got soaking down.

It isn’t enough to soak grains overnight anymore. There is something to twenty-four hours (or longer) that breaks down the phytic acid so completely that the minor upsets I’ve still been having are gone. Grains are not only easier to digest; they are easier to cook as well.

Steel cut oats make oatmeal with texture, but when it isn’t soaked it can be like you are chewing on finely diced cork. After twenty-four hours of soaking, it was a totally different kind of oatmeal than it used to be: soft but with texture, ever so slightly sour, and hearty (I prefer a “runny” oatmeal). I loved the change, but I wanted different ingredients that complimented it other than nut butter and chopped apple, particularly a vegetable. A couple of beets were sitting uneaten in the fridge, and after seeing a few blogs bringing these two great foods together, I knew I had to give it a try.

And let me tell you, it is the perfect breakfast before an epic adventure.

Sweet Beet Steel Cut Oatmeal 

45 g Steel cut oats
5 ml Unrefined apple cider vinegar
Filtered water

Place the ingredients in a jar or measuring cup and let it sit at room temperature for twenty-four hours (or more).

7 g Butter*
1/4 tsp. Sea salt
1/4 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract
1 Small beet (around 130 g), shredded
10 g Cacao nibs
10 g Pistachio nuts
5 g Chia seeds
5 g Raw dehydrated coconut flakes

In a small saucepan, put the oats on medium heat.**
Once it starts to thicken and bubble, stir in the fat, salt, and vanilla.
After a few minutes at a consistent boil, add the shredded beet and cook until soft.
Pour into a bowl and top it with the remaining ingredients.
Serve hot.

Makes 1 serving.

* If you want to make this vegan, substitute the butter with your choice of herbivore-friendly oil or omit entirely.
** I know that I have said to drain the soaking water in the past, as is also recommended by quite a few bloggers and resources, but I found it unnecessary after soaking for twenty-four hours or more. In Katz's book Wild Fermentation, he also cooks with the soaking liquid (I think), so I'm going with this method until shown otherwise.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Farmers Market Hopping

Going to farmers markets has become quite the weekend pastime for me. So when my friend CB invited me to go to Hamilton, Virginia and visit various markets he liked, how could I say no?

The ride there was filled with farms and wineries, winding roads and rolling hills, and I couldn’t wait to see how these markets differed from the ones in northern Virginia.

Want the recipe? Go here!

Before I left for such an excursion, I had an amazing breakfast: oatmeal with beets and steel cut oats, an apple with peanut butter, and coffee. If you are going to spend the day farmers market hopping, a hearty breakfast is essential to your success.

Oh, and naturally taking lots of pictures when you get there.




I love the variety of the vendors at both the Purcellville Community Market and the Leesburg Market. There were wine vendors, Shitake mushroom growers, meat and dairy folk, flowers, baked goods, pickles, salsa, fruits and vegetables, herbs and fruiting plants… 





There is even an organic nursery nearby that I am definitely going back to next spring.


I always come home so inspired by the market: inspired to create foods I never had before, and inspired by the people I met. He and I had wonderful conversations about food, our trip to Toledo, OH next weekend, and what great changes this world is coming to.

I can’t think of a better Saturday, and a meal to end it with. I had been experimenting with soaking beans this week, and I can definitely tell the difference with soaking dried beans for a few days versus buying them canned. 

Sweet Potato, Black Bean, and Quinoa Hash

106 g Dried black beans, soaked for a few days*
84 g Quinoa, soaked for twenty-four hours**
2 Small sweet potatoes, diced into small pieces
15 ml Olive oil
1 Red onion, finely diced
1 Bell pepper, finely diced
3 Garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1/2 tsp. Chili powder

* & ** If you have leftover beans and quinoa already prepared, simply use those up instead, about 260 g black beans and 230 g quinoa. Both were soaked in filtered water with about one teaspoon of unrefined apple cider vinegar, though the beans were drained at least once a day. Prepare the beans and quinoa like you usually would, go here and here.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Lightly toss the sweet potato pieces in the olive oil and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper (make sure there is plenty of room).
Bake for thirty minutes or until soft.
In a cast iron pan, heat additional oil on medium heat and cook the onion, cloves, and pepper at its smoking point.
Once softened, add the cooked beans (without the liquid), quinoa, sweet potato, and spices, and stir until slightly caramelized in some places.
Top the hash with a pan-fried egg (or whatever protein you like) and serve hot.

Makes two servings.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Monkeying around with Macaroons

Before fermenting, culturing, and sprouting became common phenomena on Meals with Morri, I thought I’d give you a fun recipe that is easy to make and popular at any get-together: macaroons. Simply put, macaroons that a wide spectrum of people can enjoy.*


The macaroon is that type of confection that I have to be creative with, or use other sources as a starting point and go from there. It sometimes is made with flour, and it usually has cane sugar, both of which (if you know me by now) my body is not a fan of. So then I look out into the unknown of cyber space, and used the Google search engine with terms like “GAPS macaroons” and “Paleo macaroons”. And I kind of find what I’m looking for… but not really. I did see that plenty of people made my kind of macaroon, but I didn’t want to use a liquid, dairy free or otherwise, and I didn’t want to open a can of coconut milk just for a few tablespoons of the “cream”.

There was, however, a lone banana on the countertop, softening and browning to the point that all you can do with it is bake it in the oven, wanting to be used in a creative and loving way. I was struck with an idea, and it was a huge hit among the family. So it is with great pleasure that I give you The Monkey Mac, the dairy free, grain free, and above all healthy indulgence you’ve always wanted.  

Monkey Mac(aroon)s

300 g Raw dehydrated coconut flakes
84 g Honey
1 Ripe banana
30 ml Coconut oil
2 Large eggs
Pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Combine 200 g of the coconut flakes with the other ingredients in the food processor until a loose ball can form in your fingers (not exactly thoroughly combined but not too separate either).
Pulse in the remaining coconut a few times, and then scoop out the mixture one heaping tablespoon at a time onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 18 minutes, or until golden brown in some places.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 24 macaroons.

* Herbivores, I'm in the process of making something just for you!

Sunday, August 5, 2012

The "Whey" I'm Heading

While Mama Dazz is off on one of her super duper important job adventures, I have taken the liberty to implement my plan to change the way we eat food... and using the majority (if not all) the kitchen's counter space. 


Those with healthy eating blogs and websites eat healthily, and I thought I was healthily eating healthy foods in a healthful sort of way. But then something clicks for you, in my case a hike in the woods with HL who told me how she discovered her love of fermenting food, and then I started doing research about what and how I was eating. 


You could say I saw a new “whey” of thinking.

Fermenting food, with salt, whey, and sugars of all sorts, is changing my life for the better. It rippled into other aspects of health and I began questioning: why I was drinking whole milk products that were homogenized and pasteurized and not raw; for that matter, why I was eating anything pasteurized to start; why I was drinking caffeine every morning (more on this later); why there was "edible" wax on certain fruits and veggies I ate*; why I wasn’t soaking or sprouting grains/legumes/seeds every time I prepared to eat them (more on this later also); and why not everything I ate was either organic, from an eco-friendly sustainable source, something I grew or helped raise, or local? I need to be the change I wish to see for the world. A lot of things weren’t adding up, and I didn’t like it.  


So today, as an experiment, I went shopping for this week’s provisions, all organic from Trader Joe's and from the farmers market**. It turned out it essentially cost the same, in some cases less to buy our food this way! I plan on getting raw milk from the Amish farm to make my own yogurt/kefir, soft cheese, and whey, and ordering our legumes and grains online. Until then, I’m using up the food we have, enjoying goat milk in my hot drinks, dreaming about lacto-fermentation (both the whey way and the sea salt way), kombucha, and getting ready to soak some sprouts. 


This post marks the journey of how Meals with Morri is looking at and treating food differently, and the usage of many, many mason jars.



* "Edible" by these standards means "non-toxic".
** I went to the Cascades Farmers Market this time, was thoroughly impressed, but be sure to bring cash with you since few accept credit cards.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

A Vacation From July

The word “vacation” is defined thusly: an extended period of recreation, esp. one spent away from home or in traveling. In layman’s terms, it is the act of vacating your current position, maybe with a full tank of gas in your car, a toothbrush, and going elsewhere with a “See ya!” and not looking back.


July was that kind of month for me, and August brought the vacation I needed.

So at 4:30 in the morning on Wednesday, I drove my little red car to Bedford, Pennsylvania. It was so nice being the only person on the road, watching the blue mountains change colors as the sun rose along my journey, driving through fog and lightly falling rain, listening to various uplifting playlists on my iPod, and not in a hurry to get anywhere in particular. The early birds of the family were the first to greet me when I arrived at 7:20, and I crashed on the couch until 9:45, when Daddy-O and his wife Allison hugged me goodbye.




The House in Bedford, or so we lovingly call the many-roomed cabin by the lake, is one big chill pill in the mountains that I desperately needed. I got to stay in the smaller cabin by the road with my cousin and her boyfriend, and we would go up to the bigger cabin to eat, read, nap, and socialize. 


My reading materials were what inspired me on that trip, and the push forward toward my plans in changing the world: Sandor Katz’s Wild Fermentation and Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening. (And then I come home to my Mountain Rose Herbs package all about sprouting, which inspired me even more.)

I then put it out into the universe: “Sprouting. Fermenting. Culturing. It’s happening, people.”

And wouldn’t you know it; I have just the place to post it all on.

I came back yesterday afternoon with a spring in my step, because I’ve never felt so sure of anything in my life. Making life to nourish others (and myself, naturally) is such a grounding thing, and I can’t wait to share it with you.

There’s going to be a lot of change on Meals with Morri in the coming months. There’s going to be a lot of change regarding Morri as well, so stay tuned!

Whenever there has been a huge impact on my life, I like to cook chicken. After reading Paul Pitchford's Healing with Whole Foods, I really started looking at what I put into my body and really started caring about how the food was grown, raised, and processed. I not only took my “Best Oven-Baked Chicken You’ll Ever Make” method and stepped it up a notch by adding a super secret ingredient to make it even better (honey) I also tried a different brand than I usually get (Trader Joe’s kosher chicken leg quarters).

I could definitely taste the difference.

Sweet n’ Herby Oven-Baked Chicken

4 (Roughly 2 lbs.) Chicken Leg Quarters
Sea salt
1/4 tsp. Thyme
1/4 tsp. Oregano
1/4 tsp. French tarragon
1/4 tsp. Basil
30 ml Honey

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.*
Measure out the honey and spices in two small individual bowls and set aside.
Place the chicken in a cast iron skillet (some overlapping may occur, but that’s fine), dry the skin and dash the surface with sea salt, and cook for one hour.
Remove the chicken from the oven and carefully pour some of the fat in with the honey (at least equal parts), thoroughly incorporate, and coat the skin using a silicon brush.
Sprinkle the spices on top of the skin and bake for another 30 minutes (You can give the chicken a second coating at any time if you have any honey-fat mixture left over).
Remove from the oven and let it sit for ten minutes before serving.

Serves 4.

* I noticed that cooking the chicken at 400ºF produced juicier chicken meat, but baking it at 425ºF like my original method works too.