Saturday, February 16, 2013

52 Weeks of Happiness - Week 49

A few months ago, I got a surprise in the mail from my friend Tina at NotJustAnotherMotherBlogger. Two pounds of Texas pecans were just some of the awesomeness inside the package. I was making some Nutella rice crispy treats this week and decided those were just the nuts to sprinkle on top.

First things first though, I needed to borrow a nut cracker. I cannot believe I don't own one! A bowl of mixed nuts (in their shells) was a staple at so many of of our family gatherings when I was a kid. It made me happy to be filled with nostalgia.
My daughter decided to help me, as this was a novel task. It made me happy to see her have a sparkle of wonder in her eyes at what we were doing. I may have acted otherwise, but it also made me happy when she sent pieces of shell flying as part of the nut cracking learning curve.
I fondly recalled the challenge of getting a walnut shell cracked perfectly in half, trying to find someone who wanted to eat a freshly shelled brazil nut, the trickiness of getting those almond shell layers off, and wondering why filberts were even in the bowl. I was happy that my daughter was engaged enough in her new job to let me ramble about my childhood memories. 

I was happy to see the intricate design of a perfectly shelled pecan. Oh, and the eating of the pecans? Yes, that made me happy too.
Shelling the pecans by hand made it feel like there was a little extra love going into the treats this Valentine's Day (and perhaps a little extra shell fragment or two), and that made me happy (the love, not the shell fragments).


5 comments:

  1. O.M.G....Nutella Rice Crispie Treats????? Girl, you've been holding out. Where's the recipe! They sound yummeh for the tummeh.....

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  2. I'm not a big nut person. Well, ok, maybe - MAYBE - peanuts, but peanut butter is definitely better than just plain peanuts as far as I am concerned.

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  3. It makes me happy that pecans from Texas can make a family activity so much fun!

    And thank you for sharing some of those DELICIOUS Nutella rice crispy treats with me. They are going to disappear fast!

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  4. I miss nuts so much. My 3 boys have nut allergies and whenever I can, I overdose on them. I do. Ask my friends. My cheeks look like a stuffed squirrel getting ready for winter.

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  5. Can you adopt me? I'll be good & take out the nut-filled garbage bags.

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