Seasonal spiced pecans.

The snowstorm two weeks ago took me by surprise.  It isn’t as if the meteorologists got it wrong; as a matter of fact, they pretty much got it right.  But I don’t watch local television weather reports: I get The Day every day, along with The New York Times.  I TiVo Jeopardy (and lots of other shows, some good enough to talk about, others of which I am ashamed that I watch them.)  But I don’t watch television in the morning or from 5 to 7 p.m.  I am usually in bed before the 11 o’clock news.

As a result, I realized just Friday afternoon that I would not be driving to New York State for a memorial service for the wife of a high school classmate.  On Sunday morning I decided I would miss a Sunday afternoon party at my friend Tracie Armao’s house because I did look at the Weather Channel and thought the melting ice might freeze before I could get home.

What I did, instead, was cook.  I had leftover chili, so I also made a meat loaf (for sandwiches, primarily), onion soup, chicken soup (with the chicken I would make into salad for the week), hummus and spiced pecans.  Here are the two latter recipes, one for  hummus I adapted from Claire’s Corner Copia Cookbook (Penguin, New York, 1994) and the other, for pecans, Kim Severson, Atlanta Bureau Chief for The New York Times, put on Facebook.

Hummus

Yield: serves 8 to 10

2 to 3 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup tahini (sesame paste, found in health stores and most supermarkets)

One-quarter cup olive oil

Juice of 2 to 3 lemons

One-quarter cup water

Lots of cloves of garlic (I use at least 6 to 8)

Salt and pepper to taste

Dash or two of cayenne pepper

One-half teaspoon paprika

Place all ingredients except salt, pepper, cayenne and paprika into a blender or food processor.  Puree into smooth.  Taste and add salt, pepper and cayenne (careful about that cayenne!)  Pour into a bowl and serve with pita, tortilla chips and/or raw vegetables.

Spiced Pecans

One and one- half teaspoons salt

Three-quarter teaspoon black pepper

Three-quarters teaspoon cayenne

One-half teaspoon ground ginger

One and one-half teaspoons cinnamon

2 to 3 tablespoons brown sugar

5 tablespoons butter, melted

6 cups pecans (although less expensive unsalted nuts would work, too)

Set oven at 350 degrees.  Whisk all ingredients except pecans together in a small howl.

Brush 1 tablespoon of butter over the top of a large rimmed baking sheet.  Add nuts, and toss to coat.  Spread nuts in a single layer and bake about 10 minutes.

Place pecans into a large bowl, add remaining butter and toss.  Add spice mixture, toss and add baking sheet to the oven.  Roast 4 to 5 minutes, stirring once.

Cool and try not to eat them all.

Generally speaking, the boules parties that take place in eight venues Sunday afternoons in the summer are foodie delights.  Each year Gloria Pepin, chairwoman emeritus, and our president, Christine Hopkins (who will, we hope, stay as president forever, since the job is a pain) tweak our very loose rules.  It once began at 3 p.m. and is now at 2 p.m.  As we get a bit older, we think about going home a little earlier, although some of us decide to stay over rather than drive home.

This past year, the ladies decided that we should make the food prep easier.  It is a bit difficult for those of us who are not real chefs to compete with the rock stars so this year, each host and their co-hosts could choose from buffet, bistro or sit-down dinner.

All but one of us chose from the two former.  But Lori and Michel Nischan obviously lost the memo.  The wildly energetic couple, who runs the Dressing Room in Westport (and he founded the non-profit Wholesome Wave, which tries to get good, healthy, organic food to everyone in America) created for us a luscious boules party on the second to last boules party of 2013.

We chose from three different meats with four different sauces, tomatoes, mozzarella and basil in a delicious vinaigrette, haricots vert with peaches and terrific toasted bread (the last of which also served as bruschetta to lots of vegetables from their own garden.  There were also mussels, mussels, mussels, which I adore.

As for dessert, there were three pastry chefs at the party, Jacques Torres, his wife, Hasty, and Wendy Laurent who is pastry chef at l’Escale in Greenwich.  The desserts included a raspberry tart, a linzer torte, gigantic chocolate chip cookies, more cookies and two kinds of chocolate truffles.  And to begin and end the party, there was an ice cream.  Before we played, there was an ice cream truck that served lots of my childhood favorites, like the Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake and Toasted Coconut.  After dinner, along with dessert, came Jacques Torres’ housemade ice cream.

By the time you read this, the boules finals will be over.  I and  my teammates will have spent time talking to our friends, since our team was third of three teams.  There is always next year.

The team that beat us was captained by Norma Galehouse.  She beat us two out of two.  Norma is Jacques Pepin’s assistant.  Jacques’ wife Gloria was on my team.  She threatened to fire Norma for winning.

Another member of Norma’s Team,  Marla Kosenski, a high school teacher of French in Old Saybrook, made a salad that may be  my favorite salad ever.  She is gluten-intolerant, and I must admit that I loved this salad so much that, for me, this could be an entrée any night of the week.  She found the recipe in the Vegetarian Times a few years ago and has loved it every time she makes it.

Quinoa salad with pistacchios, parsley and mint.

Yield: serves 4

One-half cup shelled pistachios

1 cup quinoa

One-half teaspoon salt, plus for to taste

One-quarter cup finely chopped parsley (preferably Italian parsley, not curly)

One-quarter cup olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons finely chopped mint

Toast pistachios in a small skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until fragrant and golden brown. Transfer to cutting board, cool slightly, then chop and set aside.

Toast quinoa in heavy saucepan over medium heat 3 minutes, or until light brown and beginning to pop.  Stir in salt and 2 cups water. Cover and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed. Transfer to a serving bowl and let cool.

Add parsley, oil, lemon juice, mint and toasted pistachios to cooled quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand 20 minutes for flavors to develop. Adjust seasonings, adding a little more lemon juice, if necessary. Serve on bed of leaf lettuce, if desired.