Pecans, Walnuts, and Peanuts for the Holidays by Ruth Paget
When I was a child, my father always bought walnuts and pecans in a shell to snack on during Christmas. He sat on the window seats in our house in Highland Park, Michigan (an enclave of Detroit) and had me crush the walnuts and pecans in the holiday nutcracker.
The nutcracker looked like a wooden cup that had a large wooden screw that you could turn into the cup through a grooved hole. The wooden screw eventually crushed one side of the nut well enough to pull it apart and remove the papery husks inside the nut.
I did not like walnuts then, but enjoyed crushing the nuts in the nutcracker. I liked tipping the nutcracker into the garbage every use to clean things up easily. I realize now that my dad was being somewhat like Tom Sawyer getting me to do all the work while he munched away.
One of the neighbor kids who was my friend also mentioned that I was doing a lot of work with nothing in return to my dad. She then told him what her family had as treats.
My dad sheepishly got me Fig Newtons, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, M & Ms, and Snickers Bars.
I liked Halloween for Christmas and my opinionated, bossy friends in Detroit.
(Note: I eat pecans, cashews, almonds, and walnuts now. They are good with a sipped shot of Marsala.)
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
