Simply Delicious Macadamia Nut Cookies

By Sandy Hu

Growing up in Hawaii, we had a macadamia nut tree in our front yard. We’d wait for the nuts to fall, then remove the outer husk and get a hammer to crack the rock-hard inner shell. It took a lot of patience to line up one nut at a time, and to keep the nut in place long enough to connect with the brunt of the hammer. A traditional nutcracker was useless against the mighty macadamia.

My ever-resourceful mother figured out a more efficient method. She would corral the nuts in one layer in the base of a shallow candy box, put a piece of cardboard on top to hold the nuts in place, then whack away with a hammer indiscriminately. Eventually, all the nuts would yield their buttery meat.

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Ode to Crunchy

By Marilyn Hunter

People often ask me what my favorite food is. Truth is, I don’t have one. I have a thousand. I’ve known very few people who loved one food so much they couldn’t get enough of it. My uncle was one of those people. He loved crunchy peanut butter so much he ate it straight out of the jar with a spoon.

Uncle Gerald was a bit of a connoisseur of peanut butter. In just one bite, he could tell you the type of peanuts and where the crop came from. He was a man of true grit and true love…a pillar of strength and calm. He lived life passionately. And when I think of him, I remember a happy blur of celebrations, storytelling, guitar playing and good food.

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

By Marilyn Hunter

Nothing compares to the sights, sounds and smells of Christmas. This season is truly magical… from the moment we carry in the tree to the moment we climb out of bed on Christmas morning.

In our house, the season begins the day after Thanksgiving. I try to recreate that warm, wonderful feeling of going home…the magic, sparkle and spirit of the season that delights and inspires. We set aside a weekend to trim the tree, decorate and bake gingerbread.

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