Help me use all these walnuts!

[ewp11100]

Ok so this thread could go in several different catagories, lol. But I want to put it here because a) I want to use up what I have, b) I don't want to use a bunch of exotic or expesive or nummerous other ingredients and c) the ladies in this forum, like me some times get a windfall of one crazy ingredient or another and know where I'm coming from,

SO if you got though all that... I need help using a ton of walnuts (pieces not whole), I have 4 huge bags my MIL gave me. We combined freezers (because we decided to turn off the stand alone one until we order another side of beef) and these don't fit in the freezer now. I have very little money to waste and/or buy other ingredients (ran out of WIC for the month and food stamps is down to $60 left till 6/12).
Here's the kicker....it has to be gluten free and drairy free. I know right
I have:
brown sugar
white sugar
honey
2-3 cups pecans
small amout of gf all purpose flour
pkg of gf pizza crust (dry)
tons of frozen blue berries
one small pkg of hersey's kisses (which might very well dwindle as time goes by )
rice and corn chex
canned and frozen veggies
rice
corn tortillas
few rice cakes
already cooked and frozen pinto beans, canned black beans
tortilla chips
salsa
meat
butter (i realize it's dairy but doesn't usually effect me)
olive oil
eggs
soy milk and rice milk

I was thinking of a nut crust for a pie? Like the type raw foodies make? but I have no dates and the people at the store said they haven't had any since March Could I get some raisins would that work for that? Anyother ideas? I really don't want to waste these.

sorry for typos, I'm tired

[luv-my-boys]

We are occassionaly gifted a windfall of nuts every once and a while and we go nuts making stir fry, Walnut chicken sounds YUMMY!!

[earthmama369]

You could toast some walnuts and pecans with a little honey and mix them, after they cool, with the hershey's kisses to make a batch of trail mix.

[Ianthe]

PESTO!!!!

I make a basic pesto out of nuts and herbs.. it basically goes like this:

1 c. walnuts (or other nut of your choice)
1 c. fresh herbs (basil, parsley)
1/4 c. olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 c. lemon juice

Put it all in a food processor and mix into your favorite pasta, mashed potatoes, etc.

[weliveintheforest]

are they raw?
you could soak and then toast them, and spice them or sweeten them for trail mixes, gifts, snacking. You could make walnut milk.

Raisins would work in place of dates, you can do fruit and nut balls, crusts, etc.

[ewp11100]

Originally Posted by LizzyQ

PESTO!!!!

I make a basic pesto out of nuts and herbs.. it basically goes like this:

1 c. walnuts (or other nut of your choice)
1 c. fresh herbs (basil, parsley)
1/4 c. olive oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 c. lemon juice

Put it all in a food processor and mix into your favorite pasta, mashed potatoes, etc.

Well I still have pesto in the freezer from last years basil (frozen in cubes) and my basil this year is not big enough to harvest. I moved around a few things and squished and squeezed and got 3 of the 4 bags in. I'll ave to remeber to save a bag for making pesto at harvest time (usually I use pine nuts )

[ewp11100]

Originally Posted by weliveintheforest

are they raw?
you could soak and then toast them, and spice them or sweeten them for trail mixes, gifts, snacking. You could make walnut milk.

Raisins would work in place of dates, you can do fruit and nut balls, crusts, etc.

They are not raw but you can make the same things out of none raw nuts just not as healthy IMO I have made almond milk before (again windfall of nuts on deep discount at the store), I'll try walnut milk and see how it tastes. Add get some raisins!

[alicia622]

http://www.walnuts.org/walnuts/index.cfm/recipes/

I'd look at recipes and figure out how to add walnuts to meals.
I'd make a big batch of sugared walnuts (I've always made pecans, but walnuts would work!) the ingredients would be nuts, egg whites, sugar and cinnamon. YUMMY!

[mnnice]

I really like nuts in chicken salad or on a green salad with other goodies.

[La Sombra]

Are you thinking that you need to use them soon otherwise they'll go bad? Because I keep a huge stash of nuts in my pantry (raw ones, too) that have NEVER gone bad. Am I wrong here?

You could also put them in banana bread or something like that, which could be frozen (although I guess freezer space is an issue for you!)--and I have also love nuts--and walnuts in particular--in salads and even in pasta dishes and other unusual dishes, like bell peppers stuffed with curried couscous, raisins and walnuts.

Good luck!

[ewp11100]

Originally Posted by La Sombra

Are you thinking that you need to use them soon otherwise they'll go bad? Because I keep a huge stash of nuts in my pantry (raw ones, too) that have NEVER gone bad. Am I wrong here?

You could also put them in banana bread or something like that, which could be frozen (although I guess freezer space is an issue for you!)--and I have also love nuts--and walnuts in particular--in salads and even in pasta dishes and other unusual dishes, like bell peppers stuffed with curried couscous, raisins and walnuts.

Good luck!

I'm not worried about them going bad, I just rarley ever use walnuts. I eat pecans, my favorite and almonds as a snack. I don't bake because gluten free flours are expensive and IMO not very nutricous.
sorry for typos doing arts and crafts while typing one handed

[spiderdust]

I'd think walnut milk would be bitter. :P

walnuts.org has a zillion recipes, but I think you've gotten some pretty good suggestions here!

[russsk]

101cookbooks has a really good recipe for a pasta sauce made from walnuts. It uses miso but you certainly don't need to. It's basically walnuts, miso, olive oil, honey, acid, and salt all blended up together. I make it all the time and it's fantastic. Toss with soba and top with whatever veggies you have in the fridge and a few chopped walnuts.

[SophieAnn]

Make a walnut torte!

I google-searched for "flourless walnut torte" and found this one with just 3 ingredients (walnuts, eggs and sugar).
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...d-Cream-232895

Instead of the whipped topping you could heat some soy milk, add it to the hershey kisses to gently melt and make a ganache (usually made with chocolate mixed with whipping cream). Pour a thin layer of ganache over the cooled torte and let it cool before serving.

[ewp11100]

Originally Posted by SophieAnn

Make a walnut torte!

I google-searched for "flourless walnut torte" and found this one with just 3 ingredients (walnuts, eggs and sugar).
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...d-Cream-232895

Instead of the whipped topping you could heat some soy milk, add it to the hershey kisses to gently melt and make a ganache (usually made with chocolate mixed with whipping cream). Pour a thin layer of ganache over the cooled torte and let it cool before serving.

PERFECT!!!! I might add some raspberry jam to the chocolate too, yum yum!!!! Thanks!

[sarah_bella1050]

We are not big walnut fans, but have 3 walnut trees in our yard. Our favorite way to eat them is to candy them and put them in salads, they always get rave reviews and they make good gifts. You take 1 cup of walnuts and 1/2 cup of sugar and suate them over medium heat in a frying pan stirring constantly until the sugar is completely melted and coating the walnuts. Then you place them on oiled wax paper to cool.

[ewp11100]

Originally Posted by SophieAnn

Make a walnut torte!

I google-searched for "flourless walnut torte" and found this one with just 3 ingredients (walnuts, eggs and sugar).
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...d-Cream-232895

Instead of the whipped topping you could heat some soy milk, add it to the hershey kisses to gently melt and make a ganache (usually made with chocolate mixed with whipping cream). Pour a thin layer of ganache over the cooled torte and let it cool before serving.

OMG I could you!!!! This was so good! It tasted like real baked goods!!!! I made it then put 2TB of raspberry jam and some melted chocolate on it, soooooo good! I'm going to post it in the allergies section for anyone else GF/CF
Thanks so much!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by La Sombra

Are you thinking that you need to use them soon otherwise they'll go bad? Because I keep a huge stash of nuts in my pantry (raw ones, too) that have NEVER gone bad. Am I wrong here?

Sorry to say, but you are. Nuts will go rancid in the pantry. This is why she was storing them in the freezer. With walnuts you might get a year in the pantry if they're really fresh, same with whole pecans and almonds. But pine nuts, macadamia nuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds will all go rancid much quicker than that (I know I'm missing a few, but I haven't had my coffee yet). And if the pecans/walnuts/almonds are chopped, they'll go rancid much quicker.

[annettemarie]

As per the forum guidelines, I'm moving this to Nutrition and Good Eating.

[Magelet]

I know someone already said it, but what I thought was pesto! (you could make it without cheese).

I'd blend some of the walnuts, plenty of olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and lots of some sort of strongly flavored more delicate green: (basil is classic, cilantro pesto is lovely, arugula, stinging nettle (blanch them first to remove the sting), fava bean leaves, parsley, whatever herbs you want to try, I've heard with sage or tarragon is good too.) oh man now I'm craving pesto and either a GOOD mortar and pestle or a mezzeluna to make it, like two different pesto recipes I read were claiming is better and more authentic. They both sound good...