I'd like to introduce you to a little somethin' special: My pecan tree. That's right - I have a pecan tree! Mine, all mine!
I've never had a tree before and I'm pretty excited about it, if you can't tell. Unfortunately, I didn't know I had a nut tree until after buckets full of pecan pods were tossed in the trash - didn't want to break the lawn mower on those darned alien pods littering the lawn.
Luckily my new neighbor across the street saw everything and came over to chat. Our conversation went something like this:
My new neighbor: So have you eaten any pa-cawns yet?
Me: Uh... what?
My new neighbor: Pa-cawns. From your tree. Right there. See? There's tons of pa-cawns all over your lawn.
Me: Pecans? I have a pecan tree?
My new neighbor: A what?
Me: A pecan tree. You just said I had one.
My new neighbor: A what? A Peeee-can?
Me: Yeah. A pecan.
My new neighbor: You mean a pa-cawn.
Oh. Right. A pa-cawn. Silly me. When in Texas, right? So we all stood out there on my front path, stamping the pecan shells and eating while we talked. They are goooood! 
And after that, I grabbed my little helper monkeys and we started scooping and saving our pecans in a bucket in the kitchen, like little squirrels (who, by the way, are pissed that we've moved in and invaded their winter nut stash).
Next on my list of things to do: Learn how to make a pecan pie!
xoxo,
13 comments:
I have two walnut trees. Wanna know how many walnuts we've gotten? 0! We do have lots of overweight squirrels though. I see them eating the walnuts and tossing the shells down....
That is sooooo exciting!! I only have a maple tree...it only gives me lots of leaves in the fall and helicopters in the spring.
yep, down here them's are pa-cawns! Love me some pa-cawns!!
Mmmm! You have to make brownies now and sprinkly pecans on the top of em ... sooooo good!
Haha... you say pee-cans. I was raised by a bunch of southerners. My grandpa would tease me if I said pee-can... something about a piss-pot or something. I'll check back with him and get back to you ;)
My stepfather always called them "Peeeh-cahns". With a triple e. And his pecan pies were the best :)
that is awesome! I love pecans, or should I say paw cans, lol! I rarely enjoy them as they are quite expensive, I don't think we grow them up here in the cold North, haha!
It's a good thing your neighbor came out and told you what goodies you were throwing out :-)
Yes, the proper way to pronounce "pecan" is puh-cahn. A pee-can is something you keep by the bed so you don't have to go out to the outhouse in the middle of a cold night.
You will find tons of uses for the pecans. They are great as is, or roasted with a little salt, or crushed and coating stuffed pork chops or chicken. We put them in our sweet potato casseroles, too. I grew up in a neighborhood that was a pecan grove before they developed it. We had so many pecans every year that we'd send each of our relatives home with a grocery bag full. I love pecans.
Thanks Laura! That's exactly what my grandpa always said :)
Ooooooo, I'm so jealous! We Southern girls love our pa-cawns! And that's what children are for, by the way -- to scramble around and pick up pecans (which is the official term for harvesting them -- "pickin up pa-cawns"). If you have a pecan tree but no children, you have to give birth right away so you have somebody close enough to the ground to do the duty. If you have children and no pecan tree, then you must plant a tree, knowing it will be ready about the time you have grandchildren to do the duty. Luckily, you already have both. Yummy nanner bread and karo-nut pie in your future!
Yum!! I had to laugh that you didn't know what the alien pod things were on your lawn. Surprising that the sellers didn't advertise the tree as a selling feature when you bought your house. I'm a fellow Southerner who says puh-cawns too. I can remember as a child cracking and picking out pecans and eating them. You and your family will have lots of memories about pecans and pies!
Oh yes...you inherited a pecan tree that is just beautiful and lucky you, it looks like it's full grown and you can enjoy all of those pecans!!
What a great blog.
Congrats!
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