Another Ode to Mother Nature’s Condiment -- The Sunflower Seed

Macy’s European Coffee House in Flagstaff, Arizona is where I cut my teeth in a commercial kitchen. The word “commercial” hardly captures the glow of this funky café and eatery on Beaver Street just blocks from Northern Arizona University, where I went to school.

Macy’s is where I fell in love with the kitchen as an entity; a magical environ where cinnamon, folk music and hippy women ruled. Filling three-quarters of the kitchen was the bakers’ table – a waist high stage where mounds of dough were tossed on a floured surface and coaxed, twirled and stretched into sugary danish, scones and bagels. 

The joy of working with dough on a wide surface, where the body can gain leverage with ease, makes the average home kitchen an annoying space in which to bake. That aside, Macy’s is where I met myself as the woman I would grow into with age. I couldn’t know this at the time, but it is in the kitchen where I commune with the best parts of myself. 

Macy’s was primarily espresso drinks and vegetarian meals. The sandwiches, soups and salads were simple and everything was made fresh. We tossed tamari sunflower seeds on green salads, and today, my own kitchen is rarely without them.Where sprouts offer a fresh, bright crunch, these have a  totally different mouth feel and flavor. 

Here’s how you make them:

Pour a pile of say 2 cups raw seeds into the center of a rimmed cookie sheet. Drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons tamari or shoyu sauce. Spread in an evenish layer on the sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 7 minutes. Cool and scrape from sheet to pour into your container of choice. There is always a jar of these toasty, brown darlings on our counter top.

Yes they can be bought on Kauai for around $10/pound at Papayas, or $7/pound at Hoku Foods, but that’s pretty pricey and they are so quick and easy to make.

Enjoy!