80's on the 8th.....the one thing I won't eat

I have to tell this story quite often on why I won't eat the one thing that I won't eat and it goes back to when I was a kid. I love food. I enjoying cooking but more importantly I can really pack it away to the point I probably could have joined the Major League Eating & International Federation of Competitive Eating League. Granted I might not have been at the same level of a Joey Chestnut or a Richard LeFevre but I could have held my own. I actually ate the Belly Buster at Rube's Steakhouse and got a free t-shirt out of the deal. Just think of John Candy in the Great Outdoors...minus the gristle. Though technically I ate more than the actual one because they were out of the 54oz version so I had to go with 2 28 oz sirloins. I even went back to the salad bar for more food while everyone else was still working on their petite steaks.

But back to what I won't eat but sticking with the movie theme. I have seen Funny Farm and I know what mountain oysters are but I have to say I have not been presented with that particular opportunity so I don't know if I would go through with that challenge or if I would make my list 2 things long on what I won't eat. So when I ask people before I eat something that has the appearance of a walnut (sometimes pecans are tricky that way) or something that traditionally has them in it the 1st question I get in return is Oh are you allergic? And my response is always the same....No they're just disgusting nasty vile things. Well no I don't always say that but pretty close and it usually paints a pretty good picture of my feelings towards them.

Now for the story behind my aversion to the dreaded walnut. As a kid my grandma lived in the country. On the property is a gravel pit that is still one of my favorite places to go and to bring my kids. The fishing is great but it mainly brings back a lot of great memories from my times spent there. There is only 1 negative thing about this bit of land and that is the insane amount of walnut trees in the grove. You're thinking ok what's so bad about walnuts? Well 1st off the name walnut means foreign nut if that ain't enough to describe them then I don't know what else could. The nice looking in the shell walnuts or the out of the shell nut itself you see in the store is not where my problem lies; it is with the husk that covers the shell. This nasty leathery greenish looking covering will stain everything it comes in contact with including your hands. It's powerful stuff that is even used as a fabric dye. Just try carrying around a 5 gallon bucket picking up rotting greenish brownish stinking nasty walnuts and see if you ever want to see let alone eat them again.

I can't look at a walnut without thinking of those times as a kid out in the woods wondering how many ticks I was going to have to have burned, smothered or yanked off me and just how long were my hands going to stay that color which just ruins my appetite. So I am quite alright with 7 layer bars becoming 6 layer bars, banana bread staying banana bread and brownies are for sure perfectly fine on their own. That's pretty much it in a nutshell....so to speak.