I’ve been experimenting with soaking and dehydrating nuts lately and enjoying the results in desserts—such as pecan pie at Thanksgiving—and as a snacks—such as the cashews with a hint of cinnamon I’m featuring here. You might be wondering why I would soak the nuts and dehydrate them, so I thought I’d share my inspiration, which comes from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon:

“… nuts are best soaked or partially sprouted before eaten. This is because nuts contain numerous enzyme inhibitors that can put a real strain on the digestive mechanism if consumed in excess. Nuts are easier to digest, and their nutrients more readily available, if they are first soaked in salt water overnight, then dried in a warm oven … [or] a dehydrator. This method imitates the Aztec practice of soaking pumpkin or squash seeds in brine and then letting them dry in the sun before eating them whole or grinding them into meal. Salt in soaking water activates enzymes that neutralize enzyme inhibitors.”

Nourishing Traditions and other real-food cookbooks recommend soaking most nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, peanuts, pecans and walnuts) overnight or for 7 hours in salted water before drying them. But cashews are a little different. Because they “become slimy and develop a disagreeable taste” if they soak for too long, cashews can be soaked for as little as three hours—and no more than six hours—before dehydrating.

I found myself with about 2 cups of leftover cashews (I had used them as a base to make a dairy-free, gluten-free gravy at Thanksgiving), which I soaked for a few hours (in enough water to cover them, plus 1 tablespoon sea salt) and then tossed with about a tablespoon each of Rapadura and cinnamon before spreading them on a cookie sheet and drying in the oven for several hours. They make a great snack as is, but next time I want to try grinding them (along with coconut oil, honey and sea salt) into cashew butter. I’d try it with this batch, but they’re almost all gone!

This post is part of the Tuesday Twister blog carnival hosted by www.gnowfglins.com. To link to today’s Tuesday Twister on that site, click here.

The countdown continues today with an Irish instrumental piece that actually sounds Irish: Circle of Joy, from Windham Hill’s Celtic Christmas III CD.

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