Nutty for Nuts

My family loves nuts. It's like I'm living with squirrels. I go and buy bags of shelled salted peanuts and smoked almonds from the bulk section. Three or four pounds of each. Sometimes I even splurge and fill a bag with cashews for my husband. Then I come home and hide the cashews from the kids, because the piles of nuts they know about are gone within the week: in their cheeks, down their gullets, hidden in a secret corner of their room. I don't know where they are. They are just gone.

A similar phenomena occurs around Thanksgiving. Each fall I get bags of nuts still in the shell and the cracking commences. It is the biggest mess.

After years of this behavior, some best practices have been identified. One is to used this type of nut cracker--

Another is to clean up the shells when you are done. That one is rarely followed in this rodent's nest.

Many of the squirrels crack and then drop the shells right back into the bowl. Others put them on the counter and then forget to clean up all or part of the debris. All of them are guilty of creating flying shell shrapnel with their cracking and leaving it where it falls as landmines for unsuspecting feet.

The favored nuts are hazel nuts. Almonds and Brazil nuts are also acceptable. Pecan and walnuts are not much appreciated as they are difficult to crack and clean.

The most interesting thing is that I don't participate in the nut gluttony. Unlike many other types of food, I can each a nut or two and walk away. Sure I like some sprinkled on my salad and pesto is always welcome, but nuts generally are not my favorite snack.

But it is a family tradition. And it is an easy one, so eat little chipmunk squirrels. Eat.