The seedy, nutty side of autumn

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Lori's oatmeal black walnut cookies. | Supplied Photo

Ready to go nuts?

Toasted SunflowerSeeds

Raw sunflower seeds

Salt

Water

Butter or margarine

Cover unshelled seeds with salted water. Use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salt per two quarts of water. Bring to a boil and simmer for two hours. Drain and dry on absorbent paper. Seeds may also be soaked overnight in a salt solution.

Roast sunflower seeds in a shallow pan at 300 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. After removing from the oven, stir in one teaspoon of melted butter or margarine for every cup of seeds. Cool on absorbent paper and salt to taste.

Courtesy of the University
of Illinois Extension’s
“Home Hort Hints”

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

One medium sized pumpkin

Salt

Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut open the pumpkin and use a strong metal spoon to scoop out the insides. Separate the seeds from the stringy core. Rinse the seeds.

In a small saucepan, add the seeds to water, about 2 cups of water to every half cup of seeds. Add a half tablespoon of salt for every cup of water (more if you like your seeds saltier). Bring to a boil.

Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

Spread about a tablespoon of olive oil over the bottom of a roasting pan. Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer. Bake on the top rack until the seeds begin to brown, 10-20 minutes. 

When browned to your satisfaction, remove from the oven and let the pan cool on a rack. Let the seeds cool before eating. Either crack to remove the inner seed (a lot of work and in my opinion, unnecessary) or eat whole.

Courtesy of simplyrecipes.com

Lori’s Oatmeal
Black Walnut Cookies

Makes 3 to 4 dozen cookies.

14 tablespoons butter, softened

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup black walnuts

1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  Slowly mix into the creamed butter and sugars. Mix well.

Add oats, walnuts and raisins. Mix well.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.  

Cool 1 to 2 minutes on cookie sheet before removing to cool completely on wire rack. 

Courtesy of 
Lori Aronsohn’s “Iowa Farms, California
Tables”
eCookbook (at Amazon.com)

Sunflower Salad

Mixed greens

Raw veggies such as julienned carrots, red onion, sliced roma tomatoes, sliced green peppers

Sunflower seeds (shelled)

Raspberry vinaigrette dressing 

Grab a bunch of mixed greens (the greener, the better, a large handful for each person served). Add raw veggies to your heart’s content. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Toss it all together and top with raspberry vinaigrette dressing.

Courtesy of Beth Aldrich, author of the upcoming “Real Moms  Love to Eat” (Penguin Books, Jan. 3, 2012, $15)

Article Extras

Updated: January 23, 2012 4:02AM

Autumn is here, and Mother Nature’s horn of plenty runneth over. Look no further than your yard (or an unsuspecting neighbor’s). A cornucopia of tasty, high-protein seeds and nuts are ready to add crunchy dazzle to snacks and fall recipes.

Here in Greater Chicago, three indigenous faves are ripe for the plucking. Black walnuts, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are in season. And even Uncle Sam wants you to get cracking.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave nuts and seeds a boost when it replaced the food pyramid with the food plate in June, dietitian Gina Bucciferro notes. The revised guidelines recommend filling half of one’s plate with fruit and veggies.

The other half is reserved for grains and proteins, with nuts classified as proteins along with peas, beans and meat. But we are still meatheads.

“As Americans, we are very good about getting our meat intake,” said Bucciferro, of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. “We definitely struggle when it comes to nuts, seeds and legumes.”

Indeed. According to the trend-tracking NPD Group, the average American chomps just 20 servings of nuts and seeds a year. Peanuts top the list, followed by almonds, walnuts, mixed nuts, cashews and sunflower seeds. All are high in fiber and unsaturated fats, rich in antioxidants, and excellent sources of energy.

Yet many of us still nix nuts as a guilty pleasure due to their high fat content, Bucciferro says. Here’s where moderation comes into play. “It’s not that they’re bad for you, it’s just that the calories add up faster than they do in carbohydrates. So watch your portion size,” she says.

In short, it’s better to have a serving of nuts than an extra helping of meat. Use the rule of fist. Your closed hand holds about an ounce of nuts. That’s a healthy-sized portion fit for the USDA plate. As a bonus, nuts add flavor, texture, and help with satiety. “You won’t eat and feel hungry half an hour later,” the dietitian said. Fat and fiber “stay longer in your stomach, so adding them to a snack or a meal will help you feel fuller longer.”

So gather your nuts and seeds while you may. Pick sunflower heads when the backs fade from green to yellow. Dry the flowers indoors, then rub the plump, pointy, black-and-white seeds off by hand. According to Brendan Brazier, author of “Thrive Foods” (Da Capo, 2011), the seeds (fun to shell by mouth) are 22 percent protein and high in Vitamin E. Calories: about 200 per quarter of a cup. Eat them raw or roast them unsalted for maximum health benefits.

In the Midwest, sweet, robust pumpkin seeds, a perk of pumpkin-carving, are high in iron. Don’t tell your little trick-or-treaters, but they’re also “high in fiber and antioxidants, with a decent amount of protein,” Bucciferro said. Pumpkin seeds are fine raw, but delicious when toasted golden brown, lightly salted, and eaten shell and all. Calories: about 125 per ounce (about 85 seeds).

Black walnuts — those golf ball-sized green orbs crash-landing on your car hood, driveway and lawn — are a staple of the holidays and mandatory for gourmet fudge, brownies and cookies. The rich, tangy nutmeats command $13 to $23 per pound.

Squirrels shell these native delicacies with ease. We have yet to crack their formula, resorting to rubber gloves to peel off the squishy green husks, a messy process that stains the hands and clothes. The walnuts must then be spread on screens and allowed to dry for at least a month in a dim, well-ventilated location. Only then can the cracking commence with the help of hammers, vises and picks.

E-cookbook writer Lori Aronsohn recommends soaking nuts for one to two hours before cracking them to reduce the risk of shattered kernels. The effort is worth it, she swears.

Walnuts have a spicy, “earthy taste,” says Aronsohn, author of “Iowa Farms, California Tables” (BookBaby, 2001). “Before I was eating anything like truffles, I was loving black walnuts. They have the same intensity.” They also are intensely nutritious, rich in B vitamins, potassium and magnesium, and versatile additions to entrees as well as baked goods. Calories: About 185 per handful.