I skinned the almonds

I skinned the almonds ....

 There are many ways to peel almonds, although the process is basically always the same. I have been doing it this way since my mother taught me to peel them when I was little. She would boil them, rinse them under cold water and give them to me in a strainer.

- Peel them for the pepitoria or the cardoons - she would tell me.

And I did it as she had taught me: pressing the skin so that the almonds came out whole and did not run or fly off my bowl. I did it carefully. When I finished, I gave her the handful of white, smooth and shiny almonds, which she would fry and crush with fried bread and fried garlic later, which she would add to the boiled vegetables or meat she was cooking.

Reading her book on the tram

But I can't describe this process of peeling almonds as beautifully as Katherine Mansfield does in one of her stories. - I leave you the text in the photograph so that you can enjoy it-. 

I read this book Bliss & Other Stories a few months ago and this description of something so simple and so old touched my heart and I took a photo of the paragraph so I wouldn't forget it.

Maybe I remembered my mother or maybe it's just pure envy of knowing how to describe these small moments as if they were great feats of life. But not everyone achieves great feats. Most people do no more than live each day with their little stories and try to tell them as best as possible.

Read her, read Katherine Mansfield. Her stories are small-big treasures. Here is an example:

Bliss & Other Stories

 It sounds strange for me that in many areas in the world almonds are not  used for cooking, but here, in the south of Spain, almonds are a common ingredient in our daily cooking recipes. I guess this is so because many of these recipes have an Arabic origin, and the Arabs use this nut a lot. Also, here in Andalusia, almond trees are grown in large areas of our fields. They are strong trees that need little water and can withstand extreme temperatures, so they are really suitable for our dry climate. In short, almonds are part of our culture. 

Almond trees in bloom. Sierra Nevada in the background

     

I can't imagine not having almonds, almond trees and almond blossoms in my life!