Organic A-Z: Nuts

Man, I don't even know where to start. If you are not eating nuts you are totally insane!  They are so good, so healthy, so versatile!  And they are everywhere too. Right?  Come on people, do I really need to write this blog? 

I grew up watching my father snack on [disgusting msg-coated] cocktail peanuts.  He had the right idea, nuts make a great snack but those suckers were so salty you couldn't even taste the nut (or bean...a peanut is really a legume after all).  When winter rolled 'round, big decorative bowls of mixed nuts, still in their shells, appeared at my house.  I loved this!  Using crackers to shell nuts; working for my own food.  The mix was always the same:  walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts.  The Brazil nuts were always my favorite.  They had such a weird hard shell and lots of sensuous oily meat inside. 

Perhaps it was the memory of my father, but when I was in college I ditched over-priced and under-nutritious potato chips and the like and started snacking on nuts.  I found the crunch I was seeking and they were so filling!  Sure they're pricey, but a pound of nuts goes a whole lot longer than a pound of chips.  Plus nuts are more versatile, when's the last time you threw a handful of cheese puffs into your pancake batter? 

What started as a snack for me became a major source of protein and fats.  I started cranking out pesto, and then moved on to adding nuts to stir-fries (asparagus and almonds), pastas and of course baked goods galore.  Then I began brewing almond milk and playing with nut flours (almond, walnut, pecan...great in cakes and cookies).  I love how some crushed toasted nuts can finish off a dish with an exotic crunch and flavor, an easy and exciting addition! 

Nuts are fatty but they've got a lot of good fats in 'em, not to mention some fiber and protein, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous and a bunch of other minerals too.  I strongly encourage you to go organic and make it raw while you're at it.  You want roasted nuts?  Do it yourself on a sheet pan in the oven or in a dry skillet.  Oh, if you are not going to devour all of your nuts right away, store them in the freezer to keep them fresh.   

I kept it relatively simple on the show.  Making almond milk is SO EASY everyone should be cranking it out.  Pesto?  I should have done this on the herb episode too, this classic felt like a cop-out, but I wanted to encourage you to go beyond traditional basil and pine nuts (I also should have done this one on the HERB episode).  I love using arugula or cilantro and different nuts.  Why not?  I almost did a nut pie on this episode but simply ran out of time.  I'm crazy for Marjorie Kinnan Rawling's UTTERLY DEADLY SOUTHERN PECAN PIE recipe from her 1942 book Cross Creek Cookery.  A classic that's both the sweetest and most evil thing on the face of the Earth! 

With so many varieties and flavors of nuts out there, it' hard to pick a favorite.  All good, all delicious, all the time.  Get more nuts in your kitchen, in your cooking and in your life!

Watch the Organic A-Z Nuts Video

Organic A-Z Nuts Recipes:
Almond Milk
Walnut and Arugula Pesto

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