Guest Post: Yes, Pecan!
Ok, I totally stole that name from Ben and Jerry’s, (link: http://www.benjerry.com/features/yespecan/), but it was too perfect not to!
Hi everyone, I’m Janet and I’ve just gotten started on a blog called Pretty Green Girl. I hope that doesn’t sound like I think I’m saying I’m pretty – I just mean that I am “pretty green.” 
I’m really passionate about green issues, and I love talking about them in a fun, non-pushy, and non-judgmental way. Basically my philosophy is that if you make it easy, fun and cute to be green, more people will do it (like cute reusable bags, etc)! I’m excited to be featured as a Guest Blogger on one of my favorite sites, Carrots ‘n’ Cake! I love Tina’s attitude and know she cares about environmental issues, too, so I thought this would be really fun. Thank you, Tina!
I’ve become a big fan of nut butters (mmm, oatmeal) since I started regularly reading all the fantastic food blogs out there. Pecans are one of my favorite nuts, but I hadn’t seen pecan butter in stores (only online, which is both expensive, and less environmentally friendly than walking to a local store!). So I decided to make my own, based on this recipe (link http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2006/07/cashew_butter.php) from Chocolate & Zucchini. I love Barney Butter, but it bums me out that it comes in plastic jars, plus the price is a bit steep for this economy! I usually save my nut butter and jam jars when I am done with them, and had refilled them with nut butters at my local co-op in the past, but this is even easier, and more fun (don’t you love the satisfaction of making something yourself? Plus – trust me – people will be impressed when you say you made pecan butter from scratch)! I’m also a big fan of hazelnuts and chocolate (hello, Nutella) so I thought I’d make up a batch of that as well.
Here’s the (super easy!) process:
Pecan Butter
Roasting is optional (if you buy raw nuts), but I like the flavor it brings out.
Preheat oven to 350.
Spread pecans out on a cookie sheet and toast in oven for 4-8 minutes, or until they become fragrant and darker in color. You can flip or shake them around halfway through if you’d like.
Let nuts cool to room temp.
Place nuts in food processor (you could probably also use a blender if you have a powerful one!). At first the nuts will look like this… 
But, if you keep the processor going, they will eventually combine into a nut butter! 
I apologize that I am not the best photographer – I think I need a new camera, and to take a photography class!
I added a dash or two of salt, and a teaspoon of brown sugar to make this even better. Yum!
Pecan butter tends to be a bit chunkier/grittier than other nuts, but I like it that way! Yum! I’ve taken to eating a bowl of cereal and milk (like Nature’s Path Red Berry, or Barbara’s Shredded Spoonfuls) with a spoonful of this stuff – so good!
Chocolate Hazelnut Butter
This is similar process to the pecan butter, with a few extra steps!
You can see that I bought these nuts from the bulk bin in one of my cloth bags – save plastic (and money!) 
Preheat oven to 350.
Roast nuts on a cookie sheet for 10+ minutes.
Wrap nuts tightly in a kitchen towel for a minute to steam the skins. Roll the towel around with the palm of your hand to remove the skins (if you bought nuts with skins, that is!). Some skins will give you a hard time, but it’s ok to leave some of them on.
Place in food processor and blend until nuts combine into a butter.
I added 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and 2 tsp of powdered sugar, to taste. The chocolatey nut butter has a deep, rich taste, but is not super sweet. If you like things sweeter, feel free to add more sugar!
Here are the finished products, in a peanut butter and canning jar I had saved. 
As you can see, I didn’t make a huge batch (I used less than 100g of each kind of nut), but it’s so easy, you can whip up a fresh batch whenever you want it! The varieties and possibilities are endless – I’m already thinking of a honey-pecan butter for my next attempt!
For breakfast yesterday, I made “scavenged banana oatmeal” (I don’t buy bananas, since you can’t grow them locally, but I certainly will accept browning ones that friends and family are going to throw out otherwise) with a spoonful of chocolate hazelnut butter and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Yum! 
Thanks for reading my eco-nut (hehe) spiel, and thanks again to Tina!
Posted by: Tina 28 comments
Posted in: Guest Posts, Uncategorized
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Great guest post!
I was just thinking today that I should make pecan butter since I’ve never seen it!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Delicious! I am way too lazy but maybe one day…
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I love this easy creative idea! I wonder if this would work in my magic bullet…
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Love the guest post! This is such a wonderful idea and I love the emphasis on being green!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Thanks guys! I’m glad you liked the post! Come on over and say hi anytime you like!
Thanks again to Tina!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 4:21 pm
awesome guest post! janet has some great ideas — i need to go check out her blog!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Fabulous Post! I just made some homemade almond butter the other day and it was so fun and easy! I’m glad to see other recipes to try next =)
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 4:35 pm
Love it! Wish I had time to do this!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 5:09 pm
pecans are my favorite nut and i’ve never seen pecan butter in stores! Thanks for the instructions pretty green!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Great job. pretty green sounds pretty awesome. free give-way on our criticchicks site/amazon gift certificate.
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
wow, just in this one tiny post you caught my attention on so many things we use that we dont need!
however, i dont know if i am wiling to give up my bananas!!
thanks for the post, it all looks sooo good!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Great guest post, love the ideas I’m a big fan of eating local grown foods whenever possible.
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 5:27 pm
I think being non-judgemental when talking about issues like sustability and environmentalism is key. People don’t want to be preached to and they don’t want to be made to feel that they’re doing something wrong. I approach it like, “wow, I love my CSA” or whatever, and if other people get interested in check into it for themselves, even better!
Thanks for hosting this guest post, Tina!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Great guest blog post!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 5:38 pm
homemade nutella!!!!!!!!!!! I am so making this! yum!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 6:18 pm
what a lovely post! thank you for sharing!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Wow, homemade nutella! Fantastic.
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Fun post!! Love the two ideas
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Thanks so much, everyone, for the positive response! It’s great to see other people excited about green stuff… and yummy pecans and hazelnuts!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 6:37 pm
LOOOOVE the nut butters!!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 7:06 pm
This is awesome!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Awesome guest post! Thanks Janet!
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Great guest post, Janet! I especially love the idea of the homemade nutella-like chocolate hazelnut butter… sounds delish.
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 11:19 pm
[...] people have been making their own nut butters (including Heather and Pretty Green Girl on Carrots ‘n’ Cake today), so today I finally made some with Raw Cashews. I used about 1 cup of raw cashews and tossed [...]
on Mar 2nd, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Mmm, chocolate hazelnut butter sounds great!
on Mar 3rd, 2009 at 12:46 am
That’s so strange–I was just thinking today, “I wonder if you could make nut butter out of pecans??” This post provided a resounding yes! Thanks for the tips.
on Mar 8th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
[...] such a nice gesture that made my day. In fact, it inspired me – I think I’ll do a homemade Pecan Butter giveaway in the near future. Money has been a bit tight lately, but I am not willing to sacrifice [...]
on May 11th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
[...] kind of winged it. I wanted to use pecans, but am all out – must have been that last batch of pecan butter. So walnuts it was! I also decided to make this a creamy pesto at the last [...]