What to do with these raw cashews?

[Soose]

Hi. Just posted an intro. I need help feeding my family -- not just recipes but sort of meal planning and kitchen management. I'll find a recipe I want to try and it turns out I should have started a day or two ago.

To start with, I've got a bag of raw organic cashews. It's 11pm here. I keep getting caught the next day, not having soaked nuts. Could someone please give me explicit instructions for these cashews so I can use them for a late lunch tomorrow?

Another issue as I say that. I tend to react to cashews. At worst, my face was totally swollen and eyes swollen shut and every mucous membrane in my body raw and swollen. I'm pretty sure it was the cashews. (That was before I went Vegan. But just before I went raw, several weeks ago now, I ate some cooked salted cashews and had a few lighter symptoms.) I was told at one time by someone at a Vegan lifestyle center that there was something on raw cashews that's poisonous; and I read just now in the Raw Gourmet book that the fruit around the nut is very toxic or poisonous. So... do I dare?

My 13yo loves cashews, so I bought them anyway. Hope someone can suggest what I should do with them.

I have lots of other questions.
Thanks, Soose

[Soose]

I went ahead and soaked the cashews; they turned the water very cloudy so I rinsed them well and immersed them again. 9am will be 8 hrs soaking. I've only got about 4 cups (dry). Is the best use of them as a dressing or sauce? How can I get the most mileage out of them?
Thanks, Soose

[spicyfull]

Cashews are a Soft Nut and don't need Soaking for a Long time, maybe a couple of hours or Not at all. The white in the water was probably the Nut dissolving.........



Another Recipe from my Files..
Just Like Nordstrom Cafe Tomato Basil Soup but in the raw.

When I was 20 I used to work in a Mall. I would usually choose my food choices from one of the mall food court shops. I told myself that I didn't have time to make food for myself before I left. I think I just Loved to eat the mall food. They also had a Nordstrom Cafe there. I Loved going there to get this amazing soup called Tomato Basil Soup. This soup is a legend to those who frequent or work at malls. It almost has a cult like following. I Loved it so much that I turned a lot of people on to this soup, even gave it as a gift to someone one time, and when they came out with the Nordstrom Cafe Cookbook, I got the book because I wanted to know how to make the soup at home. Then when I went vegetarian I found a way to make it vegetarian by substituting vegetable broth for the chicken broth that it called for. For several years now I have been thinking about how I would be able to create this recipe raw vegan style!

I have totally figured it out!

I would Love to share it with you:

Raw Style Tomato Basil Soup

6 small tomatoes
1 packed cup of soaked sun dried tomatoes
1 cup of soaked cashews
1 Shallot
1-2 garlic cloves
1 large carrot
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
4 Tbsp of dried Basil (Really recommend dried over fresh.)
1/3 cup of soak water from the sun dried tomatoes
2 tsp of Sun Fire Salt
1/4 tsp of black pepper
Sprinkle or two of cayenne if you Love cayenne! (Gives it an extra added kick.)

Place tomatoes, soaked sun dried tomatoes, carrot, garlic, shallot, onion and garlic powder, dried basil, olive oil, soak water from sun dried tomatoes, Sun Fire Salt, black pepper, and cayenne in Vita Mix. Blend till smooth. Add in soaked cashews and blend till super creamy.

Then...be ready to enjoy the best meal ever!


I also would Love to add that this soup is a VERY filling soup!! It's a meal in itself.
Posted by Lissa at 10:08 PM

[spicyfull]

http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.c...ipe-index.html

[symeonsam]

I found this online under "Are Raw Cashews Poisonous?"

Unless you happen to work in a cashew plant or pick cashew apples, it’s unlikely you’ll encounter completely raw cashews. The so-called raw cashews sold in natural food stores are not exactly raw, but instead are steamed. It is the case that the double shell surrounding the raw cashew, which is technically a seed and not a nut, contains urushiol, a resin that can create significant skin rashes, and can be toxic when ingested.

Urushiol is the same chemical found in poison ivy, and it is present on the leaves of the cashew tree as well as in the raw cashew shell. Processing raw cashews can be a laborious and nightmarish ordeal, and people who work in cashew processing plants tend to exhibit greater allergies to cashew shells over time. There is a high incidence of skin rashes among people who either harvest or process raw cashews. Greater sensitivity to urushiol can lead to extreme allergic reaction when raw cashews are ingested, and anyone allergic to poison ivy could potentially have a fatal reaction to eating true raw cashews.

This is why we don’t eat strictly raw cashews. Even the “unroasted’ varieties are steamed to release urushiol from the nut and make it safe to eat. Certainly, those raw cashews sold as raw have been processed to remove urushiol, so there is no danger in consuming them. As nuts and seeds go, safely prepared cashews actually cause very few allergies, especially when compared to nuts like walnuts or legumes like peanuts.

The cashew tree is a New World food, and it’s certainly a testament to the ingenuity of New World races that we even eat “raw” cashews. At some time, pre-dating written history, the people of Brazil figured out that the fruit surrounding the cashew “nut” could be eaten, but the shell could not. Also, early Brazilians were able to understand that the nut could be used when steamed or cooked. This may have been a trial and error process, with many people getting ill from error testing, but it ultimately brought us to the enjoyment of one of the most popular nuts, now grown in many places

[green jeanie]

ha soose

you answered your question exactly how i would have answered it which is

sarcastically "throw them out"

softer "compost them"

even better "love em one more time until you eventually realize how toxic they are and stop buying them"

after all these years of eating them off and on i have to say i agree with many of the folks out there who categorize them as toxic, heavy, fungally infused, non-raw, and generally bad for the bod

at times the yummy out weighed all that but now my body just hit its max on the gross factors.......

best!

[Soose]

Simeonsam, thank you so much for researching that for me. Wow. I had read that cashews and poison ivy are in the same family but did not realize the toxin was the same urushiol. I am very allergic to poison ivy. And Green Jeanie, thanks for the advice. You too, Spicyfull.

I guess what I will do with this batch that was so exorbitant is "love them one last time" in a way -- my son doesn't have any visible problems with them, so I'll let him use them for a sauce or something, then won't buy anymore.

Wait -- that's not good. It's not worth the money if it's bad for his bod. And why tempt him with a food he's not going to be able to have again? (I assume he'd like it.) Into the compost. Sigh. We're trying to find foods he CAN eat and enjoy. This is so hard. I thought I had at least one lunch figured out.

Soose

[Dimond]

Truly raw, hand-shelled cashews are not toxic. You may find those work better for you than the store bought ones. Then definitely soak them like you did with the ones you have.

[Soose]

Truly raw, hand-shelled cashews are not toxic. You may find those work better for you than the store bought ones. Then definitely soak them like you did with the ones you have.

Dimond, I bought these at the health food store, in the bulk bins. Raw, Organic. Would you assume they're hand-shelled? They're not bits and pieces -- they're whole nuts. I do wonder how they would keep the urushiol off of the nuts. Again, my son has never had a problem with cashews. (But given I've had such a strong reaction to them more than once, I personally had best avoid them.)

Thanks, Soose (not thrown them out yet)

[green jeanie]

there is some good research by gabriel cousens on how they produce yeast in the body

does he like walnuts?? or filberts???

try the rawpriestess brownies with walnuts

or hazlenut/filbert pate/hummus

sweet potato custards

i have made my own peanut free peanut butter with redbell peppers, protein pwdr, dates etc....i need to figure out the true recipe for that and share it....it's pretty awesome

how about some homemade granola??? or other trail mix type of stuff

dried mango??

and for him at this stage how about some raw bars that are easy to pack for snacks and give him "treat" food

good luck!!

[Cynthia Z]

You can make easy and yummy alfredo sauce to put on some zuchini pasta. It is very easy to make. Raw soaked cashews, garlic, lemon, touch of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. It is so good and very quick to prepare! I also add some sun dried tomatos when I have them. Enjoy!

With thanks,
Cynthia Z

[sport]

I still eat cashews.
I either make a cream by adding them to water in the blender and then pouring them over chopped apples or I use them as a filling for crepes (made out of fruit leathers).

[Dimond]

No, they're not raw in the stores. It's very, very rare to find the cashews truly raw. I also found out that even some hand-shelled ones can be heated. It's easiest to just buy them from one of the reliable raw companies or brands online. Otherwise just use substitutes.

[Soose]

Thanks, Green Jeanie -- I'm making a list.

Brownies, and nut hummus, and custards; Nut butters (peanuts are okay for him), granola and dried fruits; raw bars. I've made trail mix. You've brought up some good stuff for camping there. (I have 9 days to "cook" for their week-long campout. I suppose I should make a wishlist and try to plan out my days. Most of their food will be raw fruit and salad of course. But they will definitely need treats. All the other campers will have them.)

I'll have to improve the quality of our raw ingredients over time. I am sure some of the raw nuts are not raw, for instance. And the rolled oats.

Soose

[Soose]

I humbly admit that I nibbled on a few soaked, double washed cashews after I left this thread -- just wanted to see what they were like and rationalized that maybe the toxin had all been washed away. And today, the skin around my eyes burns. It's been getting worse through the day. So no, it was NOT WORTH IT. :(

[freshlight]

I'm sorry to hear about your problems.
This might cheer you up a bit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuhYa6KKlP4

[Soose]

Thanks, Freshlight -- that video is a hoot! :) And a good recipe. I'm going to try to figure out how to substitute almonds for the cashews in some sort of cashew cheese sauce today. But even without any "cheese," the recipe looks good!

[freshlight]

I'm glad you liked it. I Love that kid :) She is a star

[skier2]

Yeah, besides, there are so many nutritionally superior varieties of nuts that can fulfill the same roles in raw food prep. For a creamy mixture, use a combination of raw macadamia nuts and raw pine nuts. Still, cashews are much more mild and complementary to many types of foods, like raw ice cream, so it really is a shame about them not being truly raw. I might consult Navitas Naturals; they claim to source raw cashews and I have found them to be reputable.