I Am Going Nuts!

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WE ARE ABLE TO EAT NUTS AGAIN.  MY ETHEL AND I DISCUSSED ALL THE CHANGES IN FOOD TRENDS...WHAT IS NOW HEALTH WAS A "NO, NO" WHEN WE WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL.  NUTS WERE ON THE "NO, NO" LIST.  AVOCADOS WERE TOO HIGH IN FAT, BELIEVED TO BE BAD FAT AT THAT TIME, SO YOU COULD ONLY HAVE THEM MAYBE ONCE A YEAR.  EGGS...WELL THEY WERE THE ENEMY AND IF YOU WERE GOING TO BE HEALTHY YOU SHOULD STAY CLEAR OF THOSE CHOLESTEROL INDUCING GIFT OF NATURE.

Oh my!!  Just like at one time many believed the world was flat, modern science can still get it wrong.  Ethel and I both laughed at all the new updated information that is now 180 degrees from our teen days.  Learning to ignore and change the voices in our heads on what is good and bad for us is really a mind game. I know when my family got detoured on our road to good eating habits....the years of multiple kids in sports and music lessons, while they were entering their teen junk food phase.  As much as I tried, with drivers licence and personal money, came unhealthy eating habits.  Returning to the healthy highways hasn't been as big of chore as I imagined, and new recipes have encouraged my "stick-to-it" resolve.

Bottom line - stay as close to how God made it and you can't go wrong. 

My email delivered the announcement of World Pistachio Day heralding the health benefits of these wonderful nuts.  I like almost all nuts and Pistachios are one of my favorites.

Since they are green, do you think they fit into my more GREEN this year?  Now I would enjoy getting more GREEN backs also this year.

GREEN Health Tip of the week....eat more nuts!

Add Heart-Healthy Pistachios to Your Diet

Posted by Whole Living Daily

It's World Pistachio Day: Have you incorporated this sweet, buttery nut into your daily diet? If not, now's a good time to start. Pistachios are a good source of phytosterols, which help lower cholesterol and may help protect against breast and prostate cancer. They're great on their own as a snack -- a handful of about 50 kernels is only 160 calories -- or added to veggie dishes and frittatas.

 A recipe that combines two forms of nuts...so good and  found on Pinterest.from the blog Blue Eyed Bakers  

This is wonderful!! It is delicious without the lemon cream also. I am making it again today for my recovering daughter-in-law and helpful, care-taker son.

Pistachio Almond Loaf with Lemon Cream
Serves 8-10
Adapted from Epicurious

Print Recipe

For the Cake:
1 1/3 cups shelled pistachio nuts (we used salted)
1 1/3 cups whole almonds
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 lemons
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

For the Lemon Cream:
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

To make the cake, preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 4-by-8-inch loaf pan. Line with parchment paper (the parchment will stick to the butter keeping it in place).

In a food processor, combine the pistachios and almonds and pulse until finely ground. Set aside.

Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth. Grate the zest from the lemons directly into the bowl. And beat until combined. Mix in the vanilla extract just until incorporated. On low speed, gradually add the ground nuts and mix just until incorporated. Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition just until incorporated. Stir in the flour and salt and mix just until incorporated.

Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a light crumb, about 60-75 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then, tapping the pan, invert the loaf onto the wire rack peeling the parchment off.

To make the lemon cream, using an electric mixer, whisk the cream until thickened and about the consistency of Greek yogurt. Stir in the lemon juice and sugar. 

Serve each slice of loaf with a dollop of cream and scatter with pistachios.

Have a very nutty week!!
I have no clue why the first paragraph is red...or why the different fonts sizes...oh my, something has taken over my post!  Sorry!