AlternaNuts!

I love nuts. You are what you eat, right?

They are easy to toss in my purse, stash in my glovebox, and shove in my pie-hole (actually, I am not such a fan of pie, but perhaps we'll discuss E's dessert laws another day? and Cheeto-hole lacks a certain ring, no?) on the go. They don't melt in the heat, they're not artificial, and they're not hard to procure in an unprocessed fashion. Nuts pack a nice wallop of nutrition, trace elements, and protein. Trouble is, all those benefits have a price - and that would be fat (most of it "good" but it is still fat...) and calories.

Typically I conquer this with portion control. But a 100-cal pack is not always satisfying, plus having some nut alternatives is useful culinary armamentation in the war against boredom and bad foods - be they bad tasting, bad for me, or bad for the environment.

So let's talk about alternanuts.

Recently, I tried making asparagus crisps, as described by the genius FoodplayerLinda over at her fabuluscious blog, Playing with Fire and Water. Linda is a real chef, and I strongly suspect she is a genius (see above comment). I had to modify her recipe a little (go read it, silly) , as I wound up salting the asparagus while it dried in the oven (salting the water only left them too bland once dried) and the dehydration oven time for mine was much longer (about 2 hours to her 30 minutes) - I suspect both of these are due to the fact that I was unable to just use a vegetable peeler to strip the asparagus down (I have an OXO GoodGrips veggie peeler, one size, that's all) and just used a knife and some patience...

BUT, once I made these light, tasty little snacks (mine turned out kinda the thickness of 70's potato stix, with an 'x', like the kind that came in a can), I found them to be amazingly addictive.

that, and they kinda taste a lot like pistachios.

all that without adding any fat.

so go try it. like right now. one tip, though - asparagus is mostly water. so once you remove the water, you may be surprised to see just how little mass is left. These really reduce down to nearly nothing. BUT that nothing is crisp and flavorful and mysteriously lacking the sometimes-present sulfur-y note that some people dislike in asparagus.

a day later, if they get a little limp, just flash 'em in the microwave again for like 14 seconds.
crispiness returns!

I am considering trying the same method with leeks, scallions, maybe kaffir leaves... and pre-sliced mushrooms. Crispy, gentle, tasty veggie-snacks are a winner.

Did you try it? How might you serve it?
I'm planning to powder 'em and encrust stuff, as well as serve over soups, salads, in a sushi roll, you name it. and by the handful, in place of nuts!