28.09.2008 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 yours

Place 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