Nuts and Seeds

Pine nuts are expensive because of the labor needed to harvest them from the pine cones of several varieties of pine trees.

"There are two main varieties the Mediterranean or Italian pine nut is from the stone pine. It's torpedo-shaped, has a delicate flavor," Sharon Tyler Herbst writes in Food Lover's Companion. Pungent Chinese pine nuts are shaped like squat triangles and found in Asian markets. The nuts also are harvested in Mexico, North Africa and the Southwestern United States.

Buying tips. Some markets stock nuts in produce. Other sources are Asian and Italian shops.

Storing tips. Refrigerate open packages of nuts up to two weeks. Freeze them for up to six months.

Cooking tips. Pine nuts are used as an ingredient in pesto, along with garlic, Parmesan, basil and olive oil. But you also can enjoy the nuts raw or roasted in a variety of dishes, including soups, sauces, curries and desserts.

Here's to nuts? They add luxurious crunch and flavor to our favorite desserts. Just imagine carrot cake without walnuts, syrupy-sweet pies without pecans, or chocolate candy without almonds.

Yet, we should do more than just raise our coffee cups in a toast to nuts. We should toast them. I mean, really toast them.

Taking freshly chopped nuts to the saute pan transforms their mild flavor and soft bite, giving them a crunchier texture while intensifying the taste. Going from raw to toasted nuts is like going from black and white to color TV or from a sedan to a Ferrari. The heat makes them appealingly crisp and complex.

And that's just what toasted nuts can do for your dessert recipes. Toast the nuts called for in your favorite cookies, pies, cakes or candy this holiday season and your recipes will stand out even more. Everyone will be wondering what you did differently to your traditional holiday treats.

Any nut can be toasted, like these popular, easy-to-find varieties – walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pine nuts and macadamias. It takes only a little time and a watchful eye to toast nuts successfully. Follow these four easy steps for perfectly toasted, tasty nuts. Cheers!

Toasted Pecan Cookies
You can always try this recipe with another kind of nut.
1 cup pecans
1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 cups flour
2 cups white chocolate chips

pretzels, along with candy bars and fine chocolates from our Chocolate Factory, mixed nuts and pistachios from the Nut Farm, massive amounts of jelly beans, hard candies, and fruit gems from the

Pistachios 1 ounce (49 kernels) dry roasted contains 6.0 grams protein and 3.0 grams fiber. Potassium 295.4 mg Phosphorus 137.5 mg Magnesium 34.0 mg Calcium 31.2 mg Sodium 2.8 mg Iron 1.2 mg Selenium

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4 c. shelled pistachios Decoration ï Thin strips of red pepper, chives, green of leeks or scallions, carrot, and radishes Aspic ï 1 lg. egg white ï 3/4 tbsp. unflavored gelatin ï 1/2 c. green of leeks

Recipes for Shabbat Pistachios By Eileen Goltz As a kid one of my favorite things to do was get a big bag of red pistachios and suck on them long enough to turn my mouth, tongue, fingers and anything