.
Hazelnut Tinctured Life

Apologies to Austere for my later than usual posting for today.

As I sit here in my back office at the University, it is beautifully quiet. No students are lurking about, and very few faculty are scurrying about either as classes do not start for another 12 days. I thought I would take this day and make it an enjoyable workday by getting all my syllabi, and various lecture & lab materials togther so that when my secretary arrives back on campus on Monday, she will be able to add her finishing touches to the documents and send them out for printing. In this way, I will be able to be ready for the first 2-3 weeks of the semester, and the transition will hopefully be a pleasant and smooth one without last minute rushes and stress. It is so peaceful on the University campus and in my building when I am one of only a small handfull of people about.

On the computer, I have a web-cast stream of NPR that is playing a mix of gentle, woodwind-rich, classical music alternating with highly literate and meaningful news broadcasts. To the left of my computer is thermos filled with a rich, hazlenut flavored coffee that I purchased on my way in. Its texture is wonderfully strong and bitter with just a minimal aura of sweetness due tht tincture of hazlenut flavoring. To the right of my mouse, the small, glazed (sage colored), hand-thrown pottery bowl (that I have used as an ashtray for my pipes in my inner office for years) has my full-bent, Peterson resting in it waiting for me to make gentle love to her by the melding flame and leaf. Between my teeth at the moment, my other mistress of the day, my quarter bent Dublin (the one that is the image on this blog), is warm and soothing, her bowl filled with an ember created from a beautiful hazlenut tinctured burley leaf. She rests so comfortably in my mouth, the hairs of my moustache gently cascading over the top of her stem like a blanket, while the hairs of my beard brush up and gently tickle her underside in a comforting embrace.

Therefore, today, it seems is a hazlenut day for me. The mixture of both hazlenut coffee and hazlenut pipe tobacco has encouraged me to explore more about my favorite edible nut. For those of you biological types, you may find this interesting:

The hazlenut (also called the filbert (Corylus maxima) is a species of hazel bush that is predominately native to southern Europe and southern Asia, but is now cultivated widely. It is a deciduous shrub 6-10 m tall, with stems up to 20 cm thick. The leaves are rounded, 5-12 cm long by 4-10 cm broad, with a coarsely double-serrated margin. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins produced in late winter; the male (pollen) catkins are pale yellow, 5-10 cm long, while the female catkins are bright red and only 2-3 mm long. The fruit is a nut produced in clusters of 1-5 together; each nut is 1.5-2.5 cm long, fully enclosed in a 3-5 cm long, tubular involucre (husk).

My own favorite way to indulge in hazlenuts (besides its essence in coffee or pipe tobacco) is to purchase one or more pounds of the (in the shell) nuts and gently roast them (in the shell) at home. The time and heat level depends upon the moisture content of the nut, but a general recipie is as follows:

* * * * *

Home Roasted Hazlenuts (my own recipie)

Lay the hazlenuts (in the shell) on a cookie sheet in a single layer.
Place in an oven preheated to 250 degrees Farenheit.
Roast for 40 minutes.
Sample one hazlenut. If the very center of the nut is tinged a slight reddish brown color, the nuts are finished and may be taken out to cool. If the very center is still pale yellor/tan, let the nuts continue to bake. Recheck every 5 minutes until you observe that slight reddish brown center.
Serve with a nutcracker when cool.

* * * * *

You may be surprised to know that there is even a festival devoted to hazlenuts. It is in Oregon (the US's major filber growing region). Earlier in December, I was looking around for a recipie using hazlenuts, and found the festival and this recipie I have copied below. I have yet to try the recipie, and would likely reduce or eliminate some of the fat called for. But, I think it looks like it could be a very tasty dish:

From the Springfield (Oregon) Filbert Festival Website:

* * * * *

Oregon Trail Risotto With Oregon Hazelnut-Sausage Mix

Recipie serves 6

Ingredients
Italian sausages (1-1/2 lbs.)
1-1/2 cups red onion, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
2 bananas, sliced
3/4 cup halved Oregon hazelnuts
1/2 cup currants or raisins
4 cups cooked rice salt and pepper to taste
Garnish: 2-3 hard-cooked eggs, sieved Finely chopped parsley, basil, chives

Directions
Brown the sausages in large frying pan or electric skillet. Drain sausage and cut into chunks. Melt butter in skillet and add chopped onions. Cover and cook until onions are barely tender. Add peppers and sauté until barely tender. Add rice, sausage and salt and pepper tossing with a fork until hot. Add raisins, bananas, and Oregon hazelnuts and carefully toss together. Season to taste. Serve on a heated platter. Top with sieved egg and herb mixture. Excellent brunch dish.

* * * * *

I hope to continue a peaceful and tranquil day.

PipeTobacco