Oh! Nuts… a review & a recipe.
I received an email from Sam at Oh! Nuts not too long ago, graciously offering samples of whatever dried fruits and nuts I’d like to include in upcoming recipes.
I had a hard time choosing among the many offerings the site tempts us with, and ultimately opted for roasted salted watermelon seeds and dried raspberries.
Approximately one week later, the goodies arrived carefully packed in sturdy and resealable bags.
Sam must be a mind reader, as the following happen to be two of my favorite things to use in baked goods, and were sent along with the aforementioned seeds and berries: jumbo raw Georgia pecans and dried cranberries.
The first one of the bags I threw myself at was the one containing the dried raspberries, as I had never tried these before. I decided to christen them in a granola-like type of breakfast cereal, to get a feel for a more “naked” flavor before including them in baked goods: they are sweet and tart at the same time, everything you’d think and wish for dried raspberries to be.
I can see them sprinkled on top of good autumnal salads too. Think: baby spinach, radicchio, a little frisée, endives, walnuts (or pecans!), and a good grapeseed oil-based dressing.
I will most definitely order more of them once we’re done with this bag, but in the meantime, I will fight the husband tooth and nails over who gets to have them.
(Sharing, you suggest? What’s that?)
Please scroll down for a bread machine recipe using these little jewels.
The watermelon seeds, on the other hand, took some collective brainwork: the husband and I had no idea we were supposed to shell them, so you can imagine our surprise when we started chewing and chewing some more on them things, deeming them to be tasty, yes, but like the most grueling workout for the mandibles.
I was just about to give up and feed them to birds and squirrels (turns out I know what sharing means), but the husband suggested we look it up online to see if we were missing something.
(Did I just admit to being a bit daft, again? I believe I just did.)
I use these to sprinkle on salads and other dishes for now, but I will come up with more interesting uses in the very near future.
All of the nuts and fruits are impeccably fresh, and the cost appears to be fairly close to what you can hope to get pretty much everywhere, sometimes cheaper depending on the item. The best way to see about this is to make a comparison with other bulk food retailers, of course.
Be sure to check out their organic fruit and organic nuts sections, if you prefer your goodies to be that way.
If I had only one wish, it would be to get a list of ingredients directly while browsing (I mean, did you spot the marzipan and chocolate candy buttons & lentils page, for crying out loud? please note that I haven’t asked about those yet, so I do not know if they are vegan-friendly or not), but seeing as to how pleasant it was to communicate with Sam, I’m sure it would be no problem to ask for it via email instead, a service most good companies are absolutely open to giving these days.
(Let me point out that it’s not customary for a large majority of food sites to list their ingredients anyway. I’m mostly channeling my inner Frau Van Der Nitpickstein here.)
ETA, because Sam says: “we are working on putting up all the Nutrition information by each product. You can see a sample by our Raisin Nut Mix, if you click on the nutrition info button.”
I will be sure to update with the ways I’ll end up enjoying the pecans, cranberries, and seeds, but for now, how about some…
Chocolate Raspberry Yeast Bread 1 cup + 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons margarine
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups bread flour [lightly spooned & leveled]
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour [same]
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1 tablespoon soy milk powder
3 tablespoons Sucanat
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
1/3 cup dried raspberries or any other favorite dried fruit of yoursPlace all ingredients (except raspberries) in your bread machine pan, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
Select “light crust” & “basic” settings. don’t forget to also select the appropriate loaf size setting.
Add raspberries at the add-in beep.
Remove from pan once bread is done baking, let cool completely before slicing and storing.Yield: 1 1/2-pound loaf = 12 slices
VeggieGirl said,
September 28, 2008 at 1:34 pm
I keep hearing such AMAZING things about the Oh! Nuts products – I really need to try some!! Keep us all posted on those watermelon seeds, haha ;0)
Great bread recipe!!
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River (Wing-It Vegan) said,
September 28, 2008 at 1:48 pm
“like the most grueling workout for the mandibles” LOL! You write some funny stuff :)
That bread is to die for!
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Shelby said,
September 28, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Thats so funny about the watermelon seeds, the Oh! Nuts selections are amazing!
The bread also looks divine! =)
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Ashley said,
September 28, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Those are beautiful photos (as always of course)! I probably wouln’t have thought to shell the seeds either, ha ha. These sound like amazing products, I’m definitely checking them out.
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Jes said,
September 28, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Georgia pecans *are* pretty much the best. Not gonna lie. :) That bread looks rad…Can you teleport me a piece?!
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alaina said,
September 28, 2008 at 3:19 pm
that bread looks amazing! !
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mihl said,
September 28, 2008 at 3:20 pm
That bread sounds truly amazing!
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Danielle said,
September 28, 2008 at 4:06 pm
I’ve heard only great things about Oh Nuts! on various blogs before, I’m so intrigued! Thanks for the detailed description, once I do settle back in at home that amazing bread is the first thing on my list of things to make. What a glorious combination, practically all my favorite things :).
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Maureen said,
September 28, 2008 at 4:07 pm
ohmigosh… just when I was about to borrow my mom’s breadmaker, you go and post the PERFECT recipe. I’m absolutely dying to try this.
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bex said,
September 28, 2008 at 4:08 pm
My bread machine is going to get some work in the next day or so. I hadn’t heard of Oh! Nuts so I’ll have to check them out for the things I can’t yet get (like dried raspberries). I knew this was going to be a beautiful recipe.
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Rosa said,
September 28, 2008 at 4:10 pm
That bread looks gorgeous! With a little butter, it must be heavenly!
Cheers,
Rosa
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Sam said,
September 28, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Celine, we are working on putting up all the Nutrition information by each product. You can see a sample by our Raisin Nut Mix, if you click on the nutrition info button.
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Celine said,
September 28, 2008 at 4:23 pm
nifty, Sam. looking forward to it already!
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Veronica said,
September 28, 2008 at 6:17 pm
That is an impressive selection! I’m excited to see what you do with the watermelon seeds.
I also have never tried dried raspberries, but that sounds like a heavenly addition! That bread looks texturally perfect!
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Ricki said,
September 28, 2008 at 7:24 pm
Love the idea of dried raspberries–they sound soooo good! And your bread–the chocolate raspberry combo–stellar as always. I’m intrigued by the watermelon seeds, too–haven’t seen (or even heard of) them here yet. Now I’ll know to watch out for those shells ;)
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tofufreak said,
September 28, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Awesome! Chocolate, raspberry and bread all combined!
i actually have a tool that is made especially for eating watermelon seeds. i think it’s an asian thing, because my parents brought it from Taiwan.
it looks like this actually:
http://www.seriouseats.com/2008/01/snapshots-from-asia-watermelon-seed-cracker.html
anyhoo. hope you have fun with your goodies :D
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Nicole said,
September 28, 2008 at 10:48 pm
chocolate + raspberry is perfection!
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Vegetation said,
September 28, 2008 at 10:58 pm
Hahaha, oh dear! Chewing on unshelled seeds is totally something I would do! Glad you figured out the process in the end :P
And the chocolate raspberry bread looks incredible!
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Jennifer said,
September 29, 2008 at 12:46 am
How cool that you were contacted to test out both the meringues and these dried fruits and nuts! Both companies certainly picked the right person for the job!
I love the chocolate raspberry bread. That would be gone in about two seconds in this house!
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Joanna said,
September 29, 2008 at 1:48 am
i can’t get enough of this bread. it looks so good. and i must tell you that your bread recipes have inspired me to get a bread machine! i made the carrot bread without the bread machine (loved it btw), and have been saving so many of your recipes that i figured a bread machine would come in handy. well, i got it for my birthday and this is gonna be my first recipe! thanks!
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vaala said,
September 29, 2008 at 3:10 am
Ooo, that bread looks delicious…now I must convince J that sweet bread is perfectly suitable for sandwichs so that I have an excuse to make it! What do watermelon seeds taste like? They sound terribly exotic!
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Celine said,
September 29, 2008 at 4:12 am
oh goodness, tofufreak, the watermelon seed cracker…thing…freaks me out a little. a lot.
hooray for bread machines, Joanna! I’m sure you won’t regret it, ever. happy (belated, I’m sure) birthday to you.
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Liz said,
September 29, 2008 at 4:40 am
This bread rocks, Celine! I tried it with almonds instead of raspberries and it is amazing. I’m eating it right now without any Earth Balance, untoasted, completely plain. Yum!
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erica said,
September 29, 2008 at 6:01 am
Celine, will bread machine yeast work?
Mental note: Need to find bread machine paddle.
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Celine said,
September 29, 2008 at 6:37 am
you are fast, Liz! I’m glad you like it.
erica: bread machine yeast will most definitely do the trick.
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vegancowgirl said,
September 29, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Beautiful looking bread Celine! Wow. Really impressive. What a nice little treat to receive the extra goodies as well.
Three cheers for Oh Nuts!
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Bianca- Vegan Crunk said,
September 29, 2008 at 9:58 pm
The bread sounds wonderful! But watermelon seeds! Who even knew you could eat those. I may try roasting some with some late-season melon…I think it’s still growing in these parts….
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Diann said,
September 30, 2008 at 2:32 am
I’ve never tried dried raspberries, but I have tried the melon seeds. Too much work for me to enjoy. Chocolate raspberry bread looks amazing!
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Suzanne said,
October 4, 2008 at 12:09 pm
The bread looks fantastic! As a result I’m researching bread machines because I’m tired of all the junk that comes in bread and it’s too expensive to buy the bread that doesn’t have the junk. Do you like your bread machine and if so would you mind sharing which one you have? Thanks!!
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Ariel said,
October 21, 2008 at 10:21 pm
This bread looks wonderful. My mother and I would like to try your recipe, but we don’t have a bread machine. Do you have any suggestions for making this recipe kneading by hand and baking in an oven? Do we need to adjust any of the ingredients? At what temperature should we bake it, and for how long?
Thanks so much. I read your blog all the time and I can’t wait to try your recipes!
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Celine said,
October 22, 2008 at 3:57 am
have a link, Ariel:
http://havecakewilltravel.com/2007/08/16/wanna-make-bread-from-a-bread-machine-recipe-but-dont-have-one/
it’s actually on top of the recipe page, where the bread list is.
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Ariel said,
October 22, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Thanks, Celine! I can’t believe I missed that. Now nothing can stop me from baking mountains of delicious bread. :)
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