From Nothing to Write About to Nuts

It's been quite a week and I was feeling overwhelmed last night. My gentleman friend was robbed at gunpoint the night before and spent part of yesterday in the ER to see if his arm was broken because he actually fought with the robber. Between the adrenalin and the alcohol he'd also had, he was a real mess. Once those numbing agents subsided, he was in pain with torn tendons and ligaments that require a specialist. And, he's not as irrational as he was when it first happened. So, my mind wasn't really on coming up with a topic for Saturday. I have now updated to this, but wanted to make sure I posted something that was at least in keeping with the alphabetic theme.

I've enjoyed seeing other blogs, especially the food blogs (I am a foodie after all). Here's a couple recipes I get hungry just looking at:

Italian Meat Sauce and Pasta ~ Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice Recipe Blog

Cranberry Bliss Bars ~ Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice Recipe Blog

UPDATE


I love nuts. I especially like cashews and macadamia nuts. Peanuts and walnuts are next. Probably pecans next since they're so very much like walnuts and onward. I know that technically not all of these are nuts, but because of their similarities, we group them all together. Like tomatoes with vegetables.


True nuts are actually a composite of seed and fruit. We all know that seeds as we know them must be released from their fruits in order to be used. True nuts, on the other hand, are seeds whose fruits do not release them. Examples of this would be hazelnuts, hickories, chestnuts and acorns. They are encased by their "fruits" and must be forcibly released to be eaten. (Which I find interesting since walnuts are not considered true nuts.) For those of us not interested in the botanical restrictions, other edibles are considered nuts, many of which are hard-walled, edible kernels.


Walnuts, pecans and almonds are the edible seeds of drupe fruit, their leathery exteriors removed at harvest. Brazil nuts are the seeds of capsules. Cashews are seeds. Macadamia nuts are creamy white kernels. 


We've probably all heard at some point that peanuts are legumes - beans - while pine nuts are the seeds of some species of pine and pistachios are seeds from another kind of drupe. What we know as nuts are considered nuts only in the culinary sense and, interestingly, the most common of food allergens.


Nuts, as we know them, have known health benefits. They protect against coronary heart disease. Nuts, such as almonds and walnuts, can lower LDL levels. They also have a low glycemic index, so are often recommended by doctors for people with Type 2 diabetes.


Nuts are healthiest in their raw forms because the roasting process can reduce their antioxident properties as well as the essential oils they contain.


An interesting bit of trivia - people who are allergic to cashews may also be allergic to mangos and pistachios because they come the plant family anacardia. Cashews must be roasted to be eaten because they contain anacardic acid (a toxin related to the toxin in poison ivy). Roasting destroys the toxin and must be done outdoors because inhalation of the smoke can cause life-threatening reactions in the lungs.


And, because it's CATURDAY, I will leave you with these:

Tiki, before and after

                              

                                                                                 Baby Cat loves Tom

Chloe, waiting patiently for breakfast