Sunflower Seeds

[Phoebe]

Do any of y'all chew sunflower seeds, the kind that come in the shell and need to be systematically de-shelled in your mouth? If so what is your favorite kind? How does it work? Ron got me on to this stuff because he chews/eats them while driving. I am all trained up now to secure seed spitting cups and such. All the accoutrements of seeding.

[Kyle]

I do- I just buy them at gas stations. Here in Texas- and for all I know across the country- they sell flavors.

We also harvest mammoth sunflower seeds from our garden and roast them at the end of the year. This years crop has been harvested, but aren't dry enough to roast yet.

[Kyle]

Related question- does anyone eat boiled peanuts? I love boiled peanuts and they're easy enough to make in a crockpot. Here's my question- I eat the shells and have realized that most other people few this as freakish. Does anyone else do this?

[Mike]

I like most flavors of sunflower seeds, but Ranch is the main standby. The whole family loves them. For me, they are best at a campfire or to help stay awake while driving.

[Phoebe]

[Kyle]

It does taste awesome and it's easy. Like roasting pumpkin seeds.

[Iantha]

I don't think I've ever heard of boiled peanuts. Do they get soft and soggy?

[Mike]

Google says yes.

[Phoebe]

Hell's menu offers great variety and this is one of the appetizers. Where is Ronster? We need his opinion on this. I learned to love collards and sweet potato pie. The line went down at boiled peanuts.

[Kyle]

Yeah, the shells get soggy, but aren't formless. I know my grocery store sells boiled peanuts in a can, but I don't know about that. Boil them yourself in a crockpot for 24 hours- it's a cheap and easy experiment.

[Ronster]

Hi y'all. I gotta say I am no connoisseur of peanuts, but I personally think boiled peanuts are nasty. I had some co-workers who loved them and as part of a challenge I bought the humongous can of boiled peanuts, dumped them into a crock-pot for a few hours, added some Tony Cachere seasoning on them and they were well received as I served them up in 20 oz styrofoam cups. That being said, I worked the concession stands for the marching band (The Marching Bremen Blue Devils-ooorah!) and that is exactly how they were served there, sans the spicy stuff. If you eat the potato skins on your baked potatoes then eating peanut shells might just be okay for you. I don't like eating dirt so if I don't scrub it I don't eat it as far as root crops go.

I am not big on the sunflower seeds you have to shell. Let's be honest with ourselves...You love the salt and flavors not the nuts.

I do like the shelled sunflower seeds, though. We usually roast/bake the pumpkin seeds at Halloween and I like them shell and all.

On the other hand I am a fan of pecans, walnuts and roasted almonds (as long as they are not cooked in any sort of oils, but lightly salted is okay).

[Mike]

[Stan]

[Kyle]

Related note- when I eat peanut M&Ms, I put one in my mouth; peel everything off the peanut; store the peanut in the side of the mouth and eat the chocolate and shell; then repeat until you have five or six peanuts in the side of your cheek; then eat all peanuts with a couple of whole M&Ms all at once.

[Phoebe]

[Ronster]

I like big nuts and I cannot lie.

[Mike]

Never had a boiled peanut, but I will try one at the first opportunity. It sounds gross, but I might be surprised.

[Phoebe]

I would not advise anyone to refrain from adventuring into new foods unless something was very seriously wrong, and something is very seriously wrong here. How about this: take your chewed/mashed/wet sunflower seed cup, mix it with about three tablespoons of snot, warm it up for 30 seconds in the microwave, and take a bite. Same thing.

[El Jefe]

[Pdyx]

Boiled peanuts are big in South Carolina (or at least parts of it), and when I go there to visit my family in a rural area outside Greenville, they sell them at this flea market we always go to. They're okay.