I’ve been describing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as the ASMR of games. It’s so calming, especially because my favorite thing to do is just run around beautiful landscapes to a gentle soundtrack, collecting ingredients to throw in my pot. My kids are also playing and my 5 year old especially is into it. He asks me to put him on his “fofile” so he can explore puzzle shrines and fight “googlies,” although last night he only wanted to walk around a village and throw chickens at people (hilarious).
There are lots of foraged ingredients in the game you can use to create ability-enhancing dishes and elixirs and it’s so much fun to test combinations. I had an idea to make a trail mix, mostly because I was excited to see speed-enhancing fleet lotus seeds as an ingredient. Puffed lotus seeds, or fox nuts (I love that name), you can find in Indian groceries, and by toasting them and tossing them with spices or just sea salt you can make a tasty snack! I thought to make this trail mix even speedier with some speedy carrot; crunchy fried carrots is a fun technique I first experimented with to create a garnish for carrot fennel soup, and their sweetness really rounds out the flavors here. Toasted nuts complete the trail mix, and it’s perfect for you to throw in your pouch and take on an adventure.
Hasty Trail Mix
- vegetable oil for frying
- 5 or 6 medium carrots, peeled and trimmed
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup peanuts
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 cups puffed lotus seeds (phool makhana)
- 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala (or a sprinkle of sea salt)
Heat about a half inch of oil in a pan and line a plate with paper towels. Shave carrots into thin strips with the peeler and fry in batches, stirring gently until just turning golden; remove and drain on the plate.
After carrot is done, pour all but about a teaspoon of the oil off the pan. Toast cashews, peanuts and pumpkin seeds until just starting to color, then remove to a bowl. Toast lotus seeds until golden, and add to the bowl as well.
Toss nut and lotus seed mixture with chaat masala, and lastly add in the carrots and gently mix so they don’t crumble. Serve warm for movie night or room temperature for adventuring.
