AustiNuts Pumpkin Kernels are Some Kind of Magic

There must be some kind of magic in Austin that removes the stringy shell off the pumpkin seeds and leaves behind the delicious inner kernel. Rachel sent me a bag of AustiNuts pumpkin kernels. These things are rich and nutty, almost meaty: Amazing. I've always liked the idea of roasted pumpkins seeds. Sometimes I even like roasted pumpkin seeds. It's hard to get the salt balance right, but even more difficult to roast them so the shells are edible.

AustiNuts has solved this problem with some magic that gets the shells off the pumpkin seeds. It never occurred to me that this was possible. Since it's almost pumpkin carving time, I'll have to see if I can figure out this trick.

Austin to Boston Swap Package Arrived

I received my Austin to Boston swap package today. My swap partner, Rachel from the blog and then make soup, sent a package beyond my expectations. I'll run down the contents in a minute, and you can all come back for details on the contents in future posts.

But first, we both sent our packages last Thursday. Rachel sent hers via USPS and it arrived this morning, safe and sound. I sent mine via FedEx ground. It's not there yet. I'm disappointed.

Here is me opening Rachel's package. See the confusion on my face as I try to figure out what the three unlabeled items are. Rachel warned me in an earlier email, "Oh and if any of the items need explanation, email before tasting! Fair warning..." and "that which does not kill us..." I resisted my inner two-year-old's urge to put them into my mouth, and emailed for an explanation.



Finally, the contents:

The unidentified items were kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves and "wild" chili piquin all from Rachel's yard. That's the best. The pecans are from a neighbor's yard.

The packaged goods included Texmati mushroom medley wild rice, Roundrock honey and honey lip balm, Texafrance bluebonnet honey mustard, austiNuts dry roasted pumpkin kernels, Central Market peach salsa, Harriet's Original Texas ranch dressing (with jalapenos), Texas Olive Ranch mesquite olive oil, Full English Food rock buns, and New Canaan Farms Fredricksburg peach jam.

Rachel also included a shopping bag from H-E-B market and a copy of edible Austin magazine. The last item was a supply of business cards for her blog. I'm thrilled with this because I recently made a card for my blog. So now I know I'm not the only one. I had planned to include one in my box, but it fell out of my brain.

Thank you, Rachel. I'm thrilled with my package. I'll be reporting individual items in later blogs. We've already started digging in.