Plum Nuts Plum Seeds

Salty, sour, crunchy.

I swear this is dumb easy & delicious.  I learned of this through my cooking teacher Joanne Saltzman of the School of Natural Cookery in Boulder, Co right before the first bunk Bush election.

You can do this in the oven or stove top.

You can use cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, whatevs.

But the star here, the essential here, is Ume Vinegar.

Ume Vinegar is the brine from pickling umeboshi plums.

When I worked at a health food store in Philly years ago I believe the Macrobiotic cultists prayed to the alter of Umeboshi while hissing at the devil nightshade vegetables!  But tobacco was AOK, they all smoked...

Anyway, here's what to do:

Stove top:

Get out a saute pan or cast iron (if you put acidic things in your cast iron, I do)

Turn up the heat med-high & toss in your preferred nut or seed & let them hang out a minute or two, tossing occasionally.  When they start to show a tiny bit of color, or pop, kill the heat & QUICKLY start sprinkling in the ume WHILE tossing the nuts or seeds around to coat.

No need to drench them, who likes soggy nuts?  (How could I resist?)

When all the nuts or seeds appear to be tossed & all the ume has dried up remove from pan.

You'll notice that your nuts or seeds look a lil' purplish & crystally, awesome, perfect.

Oven:

Toast in oven (375) on sheet pan or oven safe pan, giving one toss during.  When toasty or popping remove from oven & IMMEDIATELY start sprinkling in the ume WHILE tossing the nuts or seeds around to coat.  Then remove from pan when ume is tossed & dried.

I can just eat these as is, I LOVE THEM.  I also put them on salads, on soups, with sushi...

I have a serious love affair with Ume, but you can also follow these directions for making Tamari Almonds or what have you.

Yummmmmmmm.