Saturday we decided to go along with my mom and dad to gather pine nuts. For some of you your thinking, "What the beep are pine nuts and why the heck would you take a good Saturday to go out and collect whatever the heck they are?" Good question. Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines. You find these seeds inside the pine cone. 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough for human consumption. The Pinyon Pine produces these lovely seeds here in North America and their history starts with the Native Americans. They are between 10-34% protein and do provide a great source of dietary fiber. So, they are really good for you and they taste great! They have been a fall family tradition since I can remember and growing up both sides of my family would take great effort in collecting these culinary delicacies. (you find most of your pine nuts served with Italian pasta dishes). We just throw the cones in the oven on 350 for about twenty minutes and then your tasty treat is ready.(You can also boil or roast these babies) They make your house smell like the great outdoors. They are very fragrant.
So, we started our pine nut picking day out with some exciting arachnid fun. My dad found this lovely thing off the side of a dirt road and gathered it up to show us. I hate spiders. I cannot even kill them when there are in my home but for some reason with it being a big bug and for the fact we were wearing gloves we thought we'd give it a shot and hold the thing. I was very close to peeing my pants and flashes of the movie "Arachnophobia" kept flashing through my mind but we made it through unscathed and the tarantula was eventually set free.....thank goodness!
Mom got a little crazy..I'm NOT that CRAZY!!!
Awesome, always a happy boy!
Pickin pine nuts. Boxes, rakes, and gloves.
Nice, ripe, Pine cone!
Here are the pine nuts. You brake through the brown shell to get to the seed.
A successful day.
Wow! You are a brave woman! I flinch just at the pictures. Awesome looks adorable (as usual) especially with those teeth. We miss you all!
ReplyDeleteShawna, you are so cute with your little pet-friend! I'm sure he/she/it misses you!!
ReplyDeleteAnna Perrenoud DeMille
Shawna, you are very well educated on the pine nut... my goodness! The first time I tasted pine nuts was at your house and I have loved them ever since. I have them with my pesto all the time. They are so good in alfredo. I love them!
ReplyDeleteYou are nuts to hold that spider... so I guess pine "nuts" are a good mix with this post. heh heh...
Love you!
EEEEWWWWW!!! I can't even look at the pictures! You are brave. Did Kalen play with it?
ReplyDelete