#cashew-apple

#cashew-apple

Starting an edible garden can make it easier for you to eat healthy and avoid rising grocery costs. You have access to fresh, organic fruits and veggies right outside your door.

In the late 1990s, the California Prune Board set out on a quixotic mission to amend this sales-flattening reputation. It would attempt to rechristen this ancient fruit in the hopes the prune could one day be as unencumbered as an apricot, a raisin, or a fig.

Soaked and blended, cashews become a stand-in for heavy cream, keeping stuffed shells, soups, pasta sauces, and desserts luxuriously dairy-free. Toasted and roughly chopped, they add crunch to salads, curries, stir-fries, and more. There are so many reasons to love cooking with these seeds-that's right, "cashew nut" is technically a misnomer, since they grow outside the fruit rather than inside a hard shell like true nuts.

The honey that God promised the Israelites in Exodus 3:8 wouldn't have been the bee-produced honey we're familiar with in the Western world - it was the thick brown molasses you get from soaking, cooking and pureeing dates. Silan, as it's known, is used in Palestinian puddings and drizzled on Israeli breads. Dates are the little fruit that could; the date palm plant has been harvested for over 6,000 years, dating back to ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia.

While it's long been recognized as a vital nutrient, many people are working even harder lately to get more protein into their diets. Protein gives us energy, helps produce new cells and keep them healthy, aids in transporting oxygen throughout our bodies, and assists in creating antibodies that fight illness. It's no wonder we're often looking into ingredients that pack a protein punch.