FOOD FOR THOUGHT
My daily #AtoZ posts combine two concepts in under-300-words per day:
an appealing food choice along with thoughts that spring to mind.
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Until I visited a macadamia nut farm on the Big Island, it was difficult for me to picture the nut growing on a tree. It is even harder to imagine a cashew or pine nut growing from a branch. The macadamia nut originated in Australia. The Director of the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne, a scientist and botanist, identified and classified the tree, then named it in honor of his fellow scientist, John MacAdam (Macadam). Hawai'i, however, is where commercial production of the macadamia nut is concentrated.
If you've never eaten dry roasted macadamia nuts, why not put that on your list of things to do this month? Whenever the bagged nuts go on sale at Longs (aka CVC), I purchase a few bags and snack on them about once a day. There are different schools of thought as to whether the nuts, made up of about 72% oil, are really healthy for you or not. I figure anything made in Hawai'i has got to have some redeeming qualities.
The first macadamia tree was planted on the Big Island of Hawai'i in 1946. The nuts and Kona coffee are both thriving products on the open market. If you don't want to eat the nuts plain, try them in cookies - naturally, they come with white chocolate chunks - or try them covered with chocolate (Mauna Loa is my favorite milk chocolate-covered macadamia nut.)
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Many years ago, I decided that as long as I enjoyed the nuts in small helpings there was no need to worry about the health factor. Besides, Jim Nabors once owned a macadamia nut farm on Maui. If those nuts are good enough for Gomer Pyle, then they are definitely good enough for me!
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