Your witness is a gatherer. Before the snow, I was at 9,000 feet gathering nuts. Sew, I've gone berserk on this nut. Get a load of these puppies!
They are called "T'o," in Tewa, the language at Oke Ouingue, NM. In Spanish, they are called pinones (the "n" has a tilde, my skill has a question.) The singular is "piñon" add accent to the "o.")
This is an antique wash basin, that I found in my now deceased "padrinos'" camping trailer recently, again, at 9,000 feet. I've laid it on my wash basin to provide lighting from the light array above me. These piñones are HUGE. They are about the size of my left index fingernail. Others, a dark brown species, are even larger, like my thumb fingernail.
At the moment, they are sorted, from the varying detritus at the foot of the thirty foot tall tree that dropped them from their cones. I started gathering them individually but it became laborious, and, I simply changed strategies, and grabbed a shovel, cuz of the blizzard forming behind and above me.
I happened to have two bins, laundry types, and quickly filled them and a spare trash bag, until I had a good hundred pounds of . . . . needles, rabbit drops, more needles, branches, grasses, deer droppings, old cow manure, you name it, . . . nope, no dope, no mere needles, &c.
THESE NUTS ARE TO DIE FOR!
Today, cuz of the snow, and being homebound, cuz I have a spouse, a daughter, two grandkids, two dogs, one cat, and, sciatica, I stayed home to sort of pretend that I was working, but I was having more fun than writing this missive. It's a real pain to sort.
Then you have to wash them, THOROUGHBREDLY. But wait, there's more; don't eat them raw, not unless you want a sore throat, prolly from the dirt and &c. After washing, spread on a baking sheet, however deep, add salt, liberally, (love that word), preheat oven to 300 degrees, and babysit them, turning them every three minutes, for three cycles, then pull a few, crack ("T'o" an onnomatopaeic sounds; i.e., word resembles the sound made by cracking them.) Abandon the shell, do not eat it. If the seed is firm to the pinch, they are ready to eat. Be prepared for a feast, but WAIT.
Around here, a pound goes for around 40.00 DOLLARS. I've never sold any of myCrops. The tree cycles every six years and I have thirteen seasons to my credit. But seeing as how on account of because myPinones are world-class, I'll consider 80.00 BUCKS per pound.
And, speaking of bucks; mash the cooked nut, mix with spices and introduce them into venison, add fruit spread, and make a turnover; again, you will die form them.
More pics to follow'
David
PS. A company in Santa Fe, NM, bakes them into coffee. I use that "cafe," to augment my regular cup, seeing as how on account of because coffee is super expensive. I hear tell they will inflate, in the next four years.
Anywho . . .
