It’s raining chocolate.  Now that’s my idea of an ideal weather forecast.  Especially if it’s drizzling white, milk and dark chocolate over organic cashews, almonds and pecans flavored with 100% organic spices.

This is just one of three nutty concoctions that you will find in a jar of “bobbysue’s nuts.”  Perhaps you’ll choose “The Original” or the spicy “Some Like it Hot” recipe.  Whatever your preference, as the old adage goes, good things come in threes and in this case there are three varieties to choose from, all containing three types of nuts, thanks to three Westchester, New York women with three shared commitments to organic food, the environment and the homeless animal population.

In fact, the latter is what brought Deb Mehne, Sue Spiegel, and Barbara Kobren together four years ago. Mehne and Kobren and Spiegel were and still are volunteers for the Westchester New York SPCA. Mehne is chairman of the board, Kobren is secretary and Spiegel is a filmmaker who met the other two while shooting an SPCA “Top Hat and Tails” fundraiser aimed at helping raise the three to five million dollars necessary to knock down the ailing facility and rebuild it.

"We all clicked,” explained Kobren. They were all crazy about canines and determined to make the Westchester SPCA a better environment.  “We do everything to make every arrival who crosses the threshold feel loved,” Kobren continued. “We care for them as we would if they were in our own homes.”

These civic-minded baby boomers also care about cooking and the environment and decided they had the makings for a fabulous recipe that could fulfill their passions and accomplish their mission at the same time.

“Bobby Sue is Actually Nuts”.

As a child Barbara Kobren’s uncle nicknamed her Bobby Sue and her Aunt Freda gave her niece a secret recipe for, you guessed it-nuts. (Only one other person in the United States has the recipe.) 

Just as any good mother packs her children with snacks when they go to school or camp, Kobren loaded her son Ben up with Aunt Freda’s nuts when he worked on the Presidential campaign trail with Hilary Clinton.  The nuts went all over the U.S. and were received with rave revues, so Kobren, Mehne and Spiegel decided to bottle and sell them with a portion of the profits from every recyclable jar going to help make the lives of homeless animals better. 

Like it says on the jar, “bobby sue is actually nuts…nuts about good food, nuts about the environment, and nuts about the plight of homeless animals.” Kobren believes nothing in this journey has happened by mistake. “The animal shelter and the nuts intertwine like a figure eight in my life,” claims Kobren.  

The partners' venture began on April 25^th, 2009 with plenty of help.  They cook their product (Spiegel drizzles the chocolate by hand) in a commercial kitchen in Ossining, New York at Matt Miller Productions.  “He gives us his kitchen to cook for free!” Kobren gushes, “All along this journey so many people have offered to help.” At first the nuts were sold in just five stores. Now, 55 stores throughout the tri-state area carry the product as well as the Cowgirl Creamery in Washington D.C. and a specialty shop in Oklahoma.

Bobbysue’s nuts are even sold in bulk for catering and they are featured in Ralph Lauren’s daughter’s Dylan Candy Bar. “This venue allows us to branch out to SRO’s- socially responsible organizations…they get us, they get what we are all about,” Kobren continues: “If you join forces you can make a difference.”

You can also purchase these outrageous nuts on line at www.bobbysuesnuts.com, but let me warn you, they are addictive.  Even before I wrote this story I met Barbara Kobren at a tasting in Armonk and I brought home a jar of “Some Like it Hot.”  My husband and I opened them on the kitchen counter and, well, lets just say they never even made it into the cabinet. When I told Barbara of my fear of eating the entire jar she had a great suggestion.  “Buy them for the holiday,” she advised.  “Serve them to friends with a fabulous cheese and a great bottle of wine.  Your guests will love them and you will be forced to share!”  

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