Snack Time

Yep, I failed at the "August Break" goal of posting a photo a day this month. I had a ton of work come in during the second week and I barely left my desk for 4 days straight, trying to stay on two really tight deadlines. Then it just seemed pointless to pick back up on the photo project, especially when it was so hot and muggy outside.

My workday is a little lax today, so I decided to do a little recipe post. I will admit, I am the LAST person anyone should follow cooking advice from, but this recipe requires zero cooking (though you do need a dehydrator, which isn't exactly a staple in every household).

I first tried these Sesame Almonds at a Raw Food/Yoga place in my neighborhood. I didn't have an exact recipe, but it seemed easy enough to figure out on my own.



1. Start off with a cup or so of raw almonds. Apparently, it's hard to find TRUE raw almonds because nut manufacturers pasteurize nuts, which makes them not raw even when they're labeled "raw". These are from Costco, so I'm sure they're not unpasteurized or organic, but they are not smoked or flavored, so it's the best I've got.

2. I used a 1/2 liter mason jar and filled it to the top with filtered water. The next step is to just soak them in a warm place for 8-12 hours so they can plump up. When you soak nuts, you're actually "germinating" them. If they're truly raw, soaking will neutralize the nut's enzyme inhibitors which will make digestion and nutrition absorption easier.



3. After soaking, drain and get rid of the water. Your almonds should be plump and fatty.

4. Next, add some flavor. I add a few tbs sesame oil + some black sesame seeds + Salt (raw foodists like to use fancy pink salt, but all I have is run-of-the-mill white sea salt). Close the jar and shake vigorously to coat. I like to let it "marinate" for a bit, but the raw food lady said this isn't actually necessary.



5. The final step before consumption is to lay the nuts out in the dehydrator for about 8-10 hours (I set it to 105°). Warning: Your house may smell like a chinese food restaurant for the first hour or two.

So why dehydrate something that you just spent 10 hours soaking? Well, the nuts will still stay plump, but now they'll be nice and crunchy. You can taste-test after a few hours go by to see how they're doing. They're the best when they come straight out of the dehydrator so I only make enough to last a few servings. I store the extras in a sealed jar, and sometimes zap them in the dehydrator at a higher temp for a short time if its been a while since I made them. I wasn't a big sesame oil person before this, but these are seriously yummy. If it tastes a little bland, add more salt.

I'm trying to find other nut recipes since I'm more of a salty-snack person, but so far I haven't found anything else.