Get Crackin'

This afternoon I was waiting around the house for an email I needed to complete a job report. Since I was stuck at home anyway, I started a pot of kidney beans. I got the bag out of the pantry and noticed that the shelf could use a little straightening.  As the beans simmered on the stove, I straightened out the honey, salsa, relish, and soy sauce.  Behind them I found a jar of pecans in the shell. They must have been a gift (because I don't buy unshelled nuts), and I had no idea how long they'd been there.

When I opened the jar I noticed a strip of paper on top, which said:

Of course I had to try out the tip.  I cracked two nuts together, opened one of them, and tasted the meat. It was OK, so I continued the cracking process two nuts at a time.  I had trouble cracking them with just one hand, but found it helped to also use my other hand to apply extra pressure.  When I was done I had about six ounces of shelled nuts.  There were more chunks of pecans than whole ones, but since I'll be using them for cooking it doesn't matter.

Five years ago today: Fold, Shape, Stellate