Pine Nuts

American Indians, Asians and Mediterranean peoples all have a tradition of gathering and eating pine nuts. Lately, pine nuts seem to be everywhere, especially in restaurants with Mediterranean cuisines. Not only are they delicious, but pine nuts also have a reputation as an aphrodisiac throughout the Mediterranean and in Asia. In Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love), the Roman poet Ovid recommends "the nuts that the sharp-leafed pine brings forth" as an aphrodisiac. Apicius, in his Roman cookbook De Re Coquinaria, suggests pine nuts with onions, white mustard and pepper to enhance physical love.

Ask a die-hard martini drinker for his recipe, and I'll bet it will be made with gin, not vodka. The same goes for pesto. There is the traditional version vs. the newfangled. Pesto is a simple basil sauce from Italy's Ligurian region, the recipe so old that it is said to predate tomato sauce by 1,500 years. Today's pesto is a sauce of fresh basil leaves, fruity olive oil, sweet pine nuts, garlic and salt. Parmesan cheese is sometimes added. Pesto is always served fresh, never cooked.

From the eastern shores of the Mediterranean as far as the Atlantic shores of Spain and Portugal, people savor simple uncooked, nut-thickened sauces. They range from tarator sauce in Lebanon and Turkey, to pesto and pistou along the Italian and French Rivieras, and picada and romesco in Spain. Every kind of tree nut - from walnuts to almonds, from hazelnuts to pine nuts - is used for these sauces, which also invariably contain garlic and olive oil. Rich, thick and fragrant with sharp, clean flavors, these simple sauces are served with grilled fish and other seafood, stirred into soups and slow-cooked for a final fragrant fillip, or spread onto bread.

Dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, collards and kale are excellent sources of carotenoids. These antioxidants are believed to have anti-cancer properties and to reduce the accumulation of arterial plaque. Kale contains an incredible amount of beta-carotene (the best known of the various carotenoids), with almost twice the daily recommended allowance. Cultivated for more than 2,000 years, kale is very low in calories, rich in Vitamins A and C, folic acid, calcium and iron.

If the fresh basil in your garden survived the weekend's frost, take nature's warning and bring it into the house, where you can prepare for a refreshing taste of summer throughout the winter. But do it quickly, for basil is a very delicate herb, and one of the first to fall victim to the cold weather. It is a member of the mint family and goes well with a wide range of foods such as pork, lamb, veal, fowl, seafood, soups, eggs and squash. One of its classic uses is pesto, the Genoan sauce creation made with pine nuts and olive oil. To keep basil without drying it - which will let it retain its fragrant essence and render it less pungent - chop the leaves finely, mix with a little water and freeze in ice-cube trays to use when needed.

Beans and ham go together like country cousins - pork and beans, as in bacon-spiked baked beans; navy bean soup with nuggets of ham; and one of my favorites from my grandmother's kitchen: steamed green beans, fresh-picked from her farm's garden, studded with morsels of salty ham. This dish plays with that dynamic duo, substituting pieces of crackly prosciutto - made so by rendering in a skillet - to pair with the plump green beans. Toasted pine nuts play their flavor off both green beans and the cured ham. Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil bring it all together.

Chef Peter Woolsey (Paris' Lucas Carton, Philly's Striped Bass) has been winning raves at his new Bistrot La Minette in Queen Village. While early goers praise the flammekueche (Alsatian "pizza") and the lamb shank, don't overlook the red-mullet appetizer known as rouget à la Niçoise. The fish sits atop an earthy salad of oven-roasted tomatoes, black olives, parsley, basil, capers, and toasted pine nuts, ringed by a vinaigrette of lemon, olive oil and reduced fish stock.

When pesto - that pungent combination of basil, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese and olive oil - was introduced, fresh basil was about as common as a rare steak. Cooks in the know had herb gardens where they grew enough basil to supply half the world's Italian restaurants, and everyone else was envious. Now basil is available year-round in most supermarkets. (It must even have replaced the African violet as the most popular house plant by now.) So to put a fresh slant on what's become a summer perennial, substitute cilantro for basil in the usual pesto recipe.

Wishful thinking is a gluttonous beast, just like many Americans. Perhaps that's why it's tough to tour the Internet in the month of New Year's resolutions without tripping over all sorts of pain-free diet tips. Search a bit, and it's easy to whip up a list of 10 ways to shed some pounds without strenuous diet or exercise. This does not constitute endorsement. Remember, experts generally say, if you really want to lose weight and keep it off, do so gradually by exercising more, switching to more nutritious foods, and consuming fewer calories.

In the Region Profit posted by Beneficial Bank Beneficial Bank , the biggest bank headquartered in Philadelphia, reported its biggest quarterly profits in more than a year. CEO Gerry Cuddy said he still had a subdued outlook on the economy. Profit was $4 million, or 5 cents per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30. The bank's loss in the same period a year ago was $21.7 million, or 28 cents per share. - Harold Brubaker Earnings, revenue up at Hershey The Hershey Co. reported a 9 percent increase in its third-quarter profit, citing higher prices and stronger-than-expected Halloween sales.

Wegmans is recalling all of the Turkish pine nuts it sold from its bulk food department from July 1 through October 18. The store says the nuts may be contaminated with Salmonella, a bacteria that can cause diarrheal illness. Store officials say the recall amounts to about 5,000 pounds of the nuts sold in the bulk food departments of of most Wegmans stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland between July 1 and October 18, 2011. The bottled pine nuts Wegmans sells in its grocery department are not part of the recall.

Today Shop, cook and eat with chef Chris Allen of Lotus Farm to Table, who will lead participants through the Media Farmer's Market to pick out fresh items that he will prepare in front of you for the evening's dinner. $55. Meet at 3 p.m. at Lotus Farm to Table, which is a BYOB, 112 W. State St., Media, 610-565-5554, www.lotusfarmtotable.com . Saturday, Sept. 24 Cast Iron Chef , a demonstration featuring experienced hearth cooks who will prepare period-appropriate meals over an open fire or on a hearth with items from a basket of surprise seasonal ingredients.

Thick. Juicy. Filling. Those are terms I wasn't expecting to fit the profile of the ingredient list below, which reads about the same as that of zucchini latkes. Yet this recipe does make a burger the whole family can enjoy.   Summer Squash Burgers 4 servings 1 1/2 large yellow squash 2 medium zucchini 1/4 cup pine nuts, preferably not Chinese* 1/4 cup olive oil 2 large shallots 2 cups plus 1 teaspoon flour 3/4 cup plain regular or low-fat Greek-style yogurt 1/4 cup low-fat milk 1 1/4 teaspoons sweet paprika Kosher salt Fresh ground black pepper Toasted buns, for serving 1. Line a bowl and a plate with layers of paper towel.

A HORSEBACK ride through majestic scenery in Maine calls for a delectable lunch that's as beautiful as the setting. In 1925, Edsel Ford followed some of his friends to Mount Desert Island, Maine, and started construction on a hilltop vacation estate he named Skylands. In those days, horses and carriages were used by many for pleasure and transportation, and within Acadia, the great national park, there were extensive horse and carriage roads for the inhabitants' use. Ford also built a beautiful stable and carriage house where he kept horses and ponies.

After 12 years, Evan Lambert said, Savona , his posh Main Line staple (100 Old Gulph Rd., Gulph Mills, 610-520-1200), needed to "evolve. " The reconceptualization, a top-to-bottom renovation completed last month, was not intended to be trendy in any way, says Lambert, who got L.A. designer Ann Vering to use natural materials and a soft color palette. They carved out small, romantic spaces for the special-occasion crowd that craves chef Andrew Masciangelo's regional Italian cuisine.

Chef Peter Woolsey (Paris' Lucas Carton, Philly's Striped Bass) has been winning raves at his new Bistrot La Minette in Queen Village. While early goers praise the flammekueche (Alsatian "pizza") and the lamb shank, don't overlook the red-mullet appetizer known as rouget à la Niçoise. The fish sits atop an earthy salad of oven-roasted tomatoes, black olives, parsley, basil, capers, and toasted pine nuts, ringed by a vinaigrette of lemon, olive oil and reduced fish stock.