Want Your Nuts Cracked?

In junior high school gym class, the eighth grade bullies asked that innocent question just before they kneed the seventh graders in the groin. I still cringe when I hear the phrase. But at Canino's produce market on Airline, it's a pretty attractive offer.

I've been out gathering a few native pecans this year, and the ones I've picked up have been nicely formed and long on flavor--they just aren't very big.

Sitting around cracking pecans and watching football is a perfectly pleasant pastime. But at 30¢ a pound, I don't mind having somebody else crack my nuts for me. The automatic nut-cracking machines are out in front of the cash registers, and they are fun to watch. There's a little fisheye mirror mounted on top so you can look inside the machine and watch it send your pecans down the conveyor line to meet the nutcracker.

If you haven't been out gathering natives, Canino's will sell you the nuts too.