Mission Accomplished!

Way back in the fall, thanks to a fit of local pride and possible inspiration from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I decided that instead of buying nuts from the grocery store, the Rodriguez Douglas family was only going to consume local nuts, as pecans are one of northeast Mexico's most abundant crops and in season in the fall. I happily bought two kilos of local pecans.

Problem is, they don't come shelled.

I thought to myself, "no problem! I need something to do with my hands while I watch Clara spend hours and hours playing on the floor, right?"

Right.

Back in 2001, I did a lot of pecan shelling when I lived in New Mexico and had a pecan tree in my backyard. I recollected that it was a lot of work, but rather satisfying in the end. So I rolled up my sleeves in November, sat down to work, and gloried in strewing pecan shells all over the backyard. I did enjoy it after all, and Clara rocked out to the sound of unshelled pecans dropping into a metal pot.

Furthermore, these pecans tasted divine. For the flavor alone, I may never go back to buying Soriana's already-shelled variety. After a long day of shelling, I'd set the finished product on the kitchen table, Mario and I would spend our evenings clustered around the computer, watching Top Gear on YouTube, while polishing off the "fruit" of that day's labor.

Now, four months after I started, I finally finished shelling all two kilos of pecans. How many pecans do I now have to eat? About half a cup.

Taking into account how much the shells weigh and how much work it took to get those pecans out of their shells, Soriana's price of 50 pesos for a quarter kilo isn't really too far off the mark. I bought one kilo of unshelled pecans for the same price. I don't know that I really saved much money by buying in bulk and shelling by hand.

But that sweet, nutty, fresh taste made it so worth it.

I'll be shelling pecans again soon.