Mixed Nuts

As I sat at the table after dinner my attention was drawn to the bowl of nuts left over from Christmas. The variety bowl of shelled nuts has served as a center piece/meal supplement for going on three weeks now. Next to it is a smaller bowl with the nutcracker and shell fragments. The process of shelling nuts has taught me a few things. First, I like the crazy looking nut that slightly resembles an alien spacecraft I saw on the X-Files or some such show once. I have no idea what type of nut it is, but i like it. The almonds are also good, but I think I prefer those smoked, or adorning chocolate covered coconut. The second thing I learned is that I will never again criticize or question the cost of shelled nuts you can buy in the store. Never again!

In the past, back before I tried my hand at cracking and shelling nuts, I often wondered why it cost so much money for a jar of nuts. But not anymore, no, not after realizing just how difficult it is to crack a shell and not smash the nut inside. Not after seeing how far the shards and splinters of shells spread explosively after making the first crack on the nut. I learned to keep on hand wrapped around the shell and to apply pressure more evenly, but they still shatter in an out of control fashion. By experiencing the work that each little tiny nut requires in order to spring the tiny morsel from its woody cage, I will never again question the $25 price tag on an ounce of macadamias. I won't wonder why you can buy a 5 pound bag of raw peanuts in the shell for $9 or a jar of raw shelled peanuts for pennies on the pound. In fact, I wouldn't even question if they started paying us to take the nuts in shells because it is so much work to shell them. It is probably cheaper just to give them away.

Well, this was a funnier thought when I was telling Taylor about it while cracking the nuts, spending minutes on extracting small fragments from the shattered remains. Your loss.