The Veggie Queen is Still Nuts

I think that nuts must be attracted to me, or vice versa. This past weekend, I came across organic, Hawaiian macadamia nuts from Lovejoy Nut Farm of Hawaii at the Sebastopol farmer's market, here in California. Leana and I chatted briefly. I had never seen mac nuts in their shells. And she had the special little nut cracker that could make it possible to easily extricate the nuts from their incredibly tough shells.

When I tasted a sample of these nuts, I knew that I had to have a bag of them. I asked if I could write a check (I remembered my checkbook but not my camera. Darn it.) and Leana said, "Yes." Then the guy with Leana said, "You're The Veggie Queen, aren't you?" And Leana got excited and said that she'd trade me the nuts and cracker ($10) for my book. That was music to my ears. I ran to get a copy of my book and left with a sack of nuts and a cracker.

My son cracked some nuts for me on the way home from the market, and I've been satisfied ever since, and that's because I am still nuts over nuts. Read my last post.

I also found out from one of my Facebook friends that macadamia nuts are also grown in California. (You've got to love social networking for making the world so accessible.) I will likely order some and do a comparison test. My "friend" told me that I had to get the really good nutcracker ($82) but I said that once I did that, I'd have no money left for the nuts. Either way, I'm still nutty.

Nuts over Nuts and Trail Mix

People who know me don't hesitate to call me nuts. In fact, my father lovingly called me a "nut job", one of the last things he said on my last visit before he passed away. So I take the term as one of endearment.

I'll admit that I can be a bit nutty and over exuberant about things, especially if they involve "real" food.

I had the immense pleasure of receiving some Braga Farms raw trail mix, roasted, salted pistachios and roasted salted almonds with garlic, all of which are certified organic and come from a small, family farm in California.

The good thing is that I love nuts, and eat them almost every day. The other good thing is that gift or not, I am likely to tell you what I really think because I am a bit of a "nut job."

So, here is my critique of Braga farms organic raw trail mix. It may be one of the best trail mix blends that I've ever had, not mucked up with lots of seeds (like those, too but often they compose the bulk of the mix because they are less expensive) and containing large firm, fresh nuts. It tastes clean, containing walnuts, almonds, pistachios, dried cranberries and large plump raisins (which I believe may be coated with sunflower oil because it's listed on the label but I'm not sure). This stuff is so much better than any other trail mix that I've had which says a lot. It's also a lot more expensive at $8.86 per 8 ounce bag, but in my case, that's a good thing because even when not on the trail, I don't seem to have a limit to how much I can, and do, eat of this stuff. Rating: 5 out of 5 for freshness, taste and overall palatability.

The salted pistachios are good, as good as any that I buy but discernibly better than my usual organic purchases. I am sure, though, that buying the already shelled organic ones is a treat because it makes it easy to add them to dishes, such as my Quinoa with Currants and Pistachios. For just eating, though, I'll stick to those in-the-shell as it slows me down so I don't eat the whole darned bag. Fresh and flavorful but not likely to make the switch to these, mostly due to price. Rating: 4 out of 5. $7.86 per 8 ounces

I hesitated to try the salted garlic almonds, thinking that they'd be very garlicky or have some "fake" taste. But I was wrong. They are addictively delicious, and once again incredibly fresh. When buying nuts, freshness really counts, which is why supporting small farms makes a huge difference. Heck, I ought to know since I live in California, known for its nuts (and kooks). The garlic almonds are lightly flavored and oh-so tasty.

Rating: 5 out of 5. $8.86 per 8 ounces. I've not had flavored almonds with such real flavor.

These products, and much more, are all available from Gourmet Shopping Network .


If I didn't live in such a nutty place and wanted to be sure that I had great products, I would order often from Braga Farms, supporting a small organic farm that has high standards. If you are in the market for great tasting nuts and some dried fruit, check them out.

The Veggie Queen Beats the Meat and Wins KSRO Recipe Contest with Vegan Recipe

I was the big winner in the KSRO recipe contest which was all about peanuts. There were 4 of us who were finalists. 2 of us were named Jill. I guess that the Jills had a better chance of winning.

I entered my recipe for Spicy West African Sweet Potato, Tomato and Ground Nut Stew. I am shortening the name to West African Sweet Potato Ground Nut Stew which is still a mouthful but a bit shorter. Most of the ingredients were locally grown except the peanut butter, and the sweet potatoes came from a couple of hundred miles away.

I wasn't at all nervous about winning the contest because I have been in the running twice before for my Brown Rice Sushi Salad and Salad with Spiced Almonds and Strawberry Dressing. But I'd not been the big winner. As the big winner, I got more prizes -- the best one possibly being the most practical, a $50 gift certificate for G & G market which is where the live broadcast was held. The other prizes were pretty cool, too -- tickets to a wine and food event, cooking class tickets to Relish Culinary with John Ash, who was one of the judges, and an overnight at Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa. I am so thrilled that my cooking and recipe development is paying off, in a most delicious way.

I want everyone (except those who are allergic to peanuts or peanut butter) to be able to make this recipe -- it is quite delicous and different. And did I also say that it looks great on a plate. But still no photos from me.

If you'd like to get the recipe you can email me at jill@theveggiequeen.com or go to my website http://www.theveggiequeen.com and sign up for my email newsletter.

The Veggie Queen Makes More Raw Pie and the Delight of Ripe Fruit

Since the local cherry season has concluded, my next raw pie is likely to be nectarine or peach. Today I bought the slightly bruised fruit, which means that it's really ripe and ready to eat, to use for slicing, freezing and making more raw pies. Funny how the fruit was in fairly decent shape when I bought it but by the time that I got it home in my plastic bag inside my big farmer's market bag, it was kind of squishy. So, I had to do a lot of quality control to be sure that the fruit was still edible. OMG, it was so good that I think that I ate a lot of it in the process.

What I want to remind you is that your food will never taste better than what you started with, and this seems to be most evident with fruit. You cannot likely purchase really ripe fruit at your supermarket so find a farm stand, a farmer, farmer's market or CSA that can provide ripe fruit in season. It can't be beat. You don't even have to make raw pie with it.

But if you want to make the pie you can get some almond flour from Angie at http://www.nutnother.com. Imade a small pie and used 1 cup almond flour and 2 tablespoons agave syrup. I mixed it and pressed it into my pie shell. I then made cashew cream. Don't ask for specifics at the moment, at my computer is still indisposed. Top with the fresh fruit and a drizzle of lemon juice (which was unncessary with the cherries as their cut sides were down). I would also like to try this with halved apricots.

I have go now as I am getting ready to drool on the keyboard. Oh boy, do I love summer fruit.

Raw Cherry Pie, Vegetarian Summerfest in Pennsylvania and A Crashed Computer

As I prepared to leave town, I had an abundance of cherries so I made raw cherry pie. You would see the photo here but my tale of woe, in Pennsylvania, is that right before my talk on Mushrooms as Medicine (wish that you could protect computers with mushrooms), my computer was attacked by a virus. But back to the raw cherry pie.

I made a crust with almond flour and agave nectar. Next I made a raw cashew cream with just a bit of vanilla extract and orange zest and spread that inside. Next came the sliced, pitted raw cherries with the cut side down. And that was it. It looked beautiful and tasted great. And I really did take a photo but that has disappeared into the ether, at least for now.

I headed off to Johnstown, PA on a Tuesday night and arrived very early Wednesday morning. But my suitcase took a detour to Phoenix and Omaha (now why would you want to go there? I asked). It arrived at 2 a.m. 1st lesson learned -- always pack what you might need for the rest of day in your carry-on bag. I survived just fine, as I bought a toothbrush.

Everything seemed to be going great at the conference, which I will post about separately later, until Saturday when the aforementioned computer crash occurred. And still, it's not been the end of my life -- just a big bump on the current path.

People ask why I'm still smiling when a big chunk of my work (My mantra now involves the words "back up") seems as if it might be nonexistent? My answer, "What are my other choices?" So, I am smiling and enjoying life to the best of my ability. And I am very able.

Nuts are Big at Safeway

I am not referring to the shoppers and their state of mind. But one of my local Safeway stores was just remodeled (after being built only a few years ago) and one of the most prominent features is a large nut bar. In addition to ordering nuts by the pound, or part thereof, there is also a station which will fresh grind nut butters for you -- ranging from almost to peanut, peanut and chocolate to organic peanut. I noticed that the price of the organic peanut was $5.99.

When I checked at the nearby natural food store where I shop,. their organic fresh peanut butter is only $3.49 per pound. I have a feeling that for most Safeway shoppers, having fresh ground nut butter is such a novely that they'll try it, and if they like it, they'll be back. But it seems expensive to me in the $4 to $8 per pound range.

Additionally, while I think that including nuts, seeds and nut butters in a vegan or vegetarian diet in moderation is just fine, I am not sure about including them in a SAD (standard American diet) due their high fat content. But truth is if the nuts or nut butters are replacing processed food, then that's a good thing.

Just the fact that Safeway has chosen to have a nut bar is quite interesting. I suspect that in addition to the high profit margin potential from the nut bar, they must think that nuts are an up and coming food item. I hadn't thought of them that way but maybe now I will.

I use nuts often as a way to add toasty flavor or texture to food, especially in salads or pasta dishes. One of my favorite things to eat is toasted bread with nuts or seeds in it, especially on the crust. Put on some avocado and maybe some sprouts, and I'll call it breakfast. Obviously I am a nutty Safeway shopper (not very often) of a different kind.