What are you eating tonight?

Hiya,

Most of you probably don't know it's pinon season in Colorado and New Mexico among other places. Started picking those in October and the crops have generally been very good. I have been enjoying these little things quite a bit, all shelled and ready to eat.

The pinon (pinyon) is a nut from one special kinda pine tree and isn't exactly the same as a regular pine nut from China for example. The Italian pignola is from yet another tree variation as well.

Anyway, people will locate pine cones, remove the nuts and done deal. Hah, maybe not quite finished......still lots of work to be done. Labor's one reason why prices are high for these things. Another reason is the high percentage of 'dud/absent' seeds in the shell when first picked.

So to start with, you gotta get the tiny nuts outta their tiny shells. One hard shell variety needs a rolling pin to crack em and the softer shelled type can be popped using fingers and pressure.

Oh yeah, you might wanna roast and salt em beforehand.....more time and effort.

To end up with a few decent handfuls to chew on can take a little while.

Which is why I ordered a good sized 1 pound bag of roasted, salted, and shelled pinon nuts from a New Mexican vendor. Got that package a couple days ago and whew doggies, they are tasty! Been popping em like they're the OxyContin of the nut world....yummy!

Martin
 
Tonight we had chicken burritos with mole sauce and Spanish rice. (Well, I had chicken. My wife went meatless.) Yum.
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