477: Peanuts
Molly:
I'm Molly.
Matthew:
And I'm Matthew.
Molly:
And this is Spilled Milk, the show where we cook something delicious, eat it all and you can't have any.
Matthew:
And today, we are talking about peanuts.
Molly:
We are talking about peanuts. Uh, let's see. Happy late Valentine's Day everybody. We hope you got a bag of peanuts from your loved one.
Matthew:
Maybe some chocolate peanut confection. Maybe a Reese's Peanut Butter heart.
Molly:
Oh.
Matthew:
Even though this is not the-
Molly:
[crosstalk 00:00:30]
Matthew:
... peanut butter episode.
Molly:
That's true, but you know the line is very fine between peanut-
Matthew:
The line is very-
Molly:
... butter.
Matthew:
... fine. Were like a fine line that gets better over time.
Molly:
That's exactly how it goes.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
All right. Today we're talking about peanuts.
Matthew:
Yes. And I think this was also suggested by listener Dana who sent in a sheaf of excellent recipe suggestions including, as often happens, listener Dana was like, "Yeah. You should do peanuts." And I was like, "We've already done peanuts. Give me a break. We're a food show and we've been on for 11... Oh, wait. We haven't done peanuts." We've done peanut butter. We've done powdered peanut butter. We've done chocolate peanut butter. But not peanuts apparently.
Molly:
Okay. Well, here we are.
Matthew:
Yes. And in order to not make this episode go on literally forever, I decided when I was researching to focus on peanuts eaten as a snack.
Molly:
Yes.
Matthew:
Because that means not peanut butter because we already did it, not things made with peanuts like recipes made with peanuts, like not peanut brittle and also not boiled peanuts because I really don't know anything about them and I hope we'll do them in the future, but not today.
Molly:
Maybe we could get someone from some part of the South to come on and be an expert about boiled peanuts.
Matthew:
Yeah. That would be a good idea. Someone from the boiled peanut district.
Molly:
Yes.
Matthew:
The boil belt they call it.
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Anyways, yeah. Today we are talking about snacking peanuts.
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
All right?
Matthew:
Maybe we should call the episode Snacking Peanuts. And everyone would be like, "What is that?"
Molly:
Let's begin on memory lane as we usually do.
Matthew:
Okay. Did you snack on peanuts as a child?
Molly:
When I was a kid, I think it was a golden age of peanuts on airplanes.
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
Right?
Matthew:
True.
Molly:
This was back when you always got food on an airplane-
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
... and you didn't have to pay for it. You almost always got a little shiny single serving package of peanuts. And these were either salted peanuts or they were honey roasted peanuts.
Matthew:
Oh, I'm so glad you brought up honey roasted peanuts because I definitely want to talk about that.
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). When I was a kid, I think I felt like the salted peanuts, it depended on how desperate I was. Salted peanuts, they were fine I guess.
Matthew:
Okay, interesting.
Molly:
But honey roasted peanuts, now that is a revelation. And I remember that as a child, having my first honey roasted peanut. I don't remember exactly when it was, but I remember being stricken in a good way by how delicious it was.
Matthew:
Would you say you had a honeymoon period with the honey roasted peanuts?
Molly:
I would.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
I would.
Matthew:
I also, I don't remember specifically when I was introduced to honey roasted peanuts, but I do remember them blowing my mind. But I also always loved just regular salted peanuts and I especially, when I was a kid, loved peanuts in the shell. I thought this seemed so festive somehow that you could... because I guess compared to other nuts that are really hard to shell, peanuts you can easily shell with your hand. If you try to crack open a walnut with your hand, you'd lose a hand. But-
Molly:
Okay. But hold on. How did you feel about, when peanuts come in the shell, you never know exactly what type of peanut is in there. And I know we're going to get to varieties of snacking peanut-
Matthew:
Yeah, kind of, because I got confused very quickly.
Molly:
... but I don't really love the ones, is it a Spanish peanut that has a reddish thin, papery skin around the nut meat?
Matthew:
Yes, that is the Spanish peanut.
Molly:
Okay. I don't really, I never have liked encountering that peanut.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
And I have mixed feelings about peanuts in the shell. I don't know, it's just that there's got to be plenty of salt on the shell so that your fingers get nice and salty.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
Because the peanut on the inside is not salted.
Matthew:
Oh, we're going to get to that.
Molly:
Are we?
Matthew:
Yes. Because-
Molly:
Oh.
Matthew:
... usually they're salted throughout.
Molly:
Really? Then why are some of them so much better than others?
Matthew:
That is a good question.
Molly:
A peanut without enough salt is a terrible, terrible-
Matthew:
Yes, I completely agree-
Molly:
... waste of space.
Matthew:
... but typically the way they produce salted peanuts in the shell, spoiler, we're just going to jump ahead, that they brine the peanuts in the shell-
Molly:
Before roasting?
Matthew:
... and so the brine gets in, yes, and so the brine gets in and seasons them before roasting.
Molly:
Oh!
Matthew:
I think probably if you buy, I don't even know if they sell [inaudible 00:05:04]. We determined that nuts in the shell were sort of a holiday seasonal thing at one point. Maybe on the mixed nut episode. I-
Molly:
But peanuts in the shell are [crosstalk 00:05:12].
Matthew:
Peanuts in the shell, you can probably get those at the regular store at a normal time, right? Not a weird holiday time?
Molly:
Actually, at the farmer's market in the summer, Alvarez Farms-
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
... here in the Seattle area often has peanuts either salted or unsalted in the shell.
Matthew:
Yes. Their salted peanuts are very good and I'm sure they brine them because they're nice and salty.
Molly:
Yeah. God, okay, this is such a good point. Ignore everything I said before.
Matthew:
No, it was-
Molly:
Just erase me.
Matthew:
... such a perfect setup. Thanks for setting that up and I just teed it off. That, is that-
Molly:
I feel so teed off.
Matthew:
Yeah. I understand.
Molly:
Okay. Matthew, hold on. I want to talk more about something you wrote here on the agenda. You wrote, "When you were a kid, did someone show you how to find the mustached," isn't that mustachioed?
Matthew:
I should have said, mustachioed, yes. That was the real error on my part.
Molly:
Mustachioed "old man in a peanut?" What?
Matthew:
I asked wife of the show Laurie about this and she also had no idea what I was talking about. But I remember this so vividly as a kid that some other kid took me aside and said, "Hey, if you pull apart the two halves of the peanut carefully, then one of them will have a little face with a little mustache at one end."
Molly:
Are you sure they weren't talking about how babies are made?
Matthew:
I do always get those confused. Babies, you have to crack-
Molly:
It's if you pull back-
Matthew:
... them out of a shell, right?
Molly:
... this part-
Matthew:
Uh-huh (affirmative).
Molly:
... you'll see another part.
Matthew:
That is true of a lot of things, yes.
Molly:
Anyway, I'm sorry. Walk me through this again.
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
Are we looking-
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
... at a whole-
Matthew:
Does it look-
Molly:
... peanut shell?
Matthew:
... could it also be interpreted as a little peanut clitoris? Yes. But that wasn't how it was described to me at age six or whatever.
Molly:
Okay, wait. You're talking about the shelled peanut. The actual nut meat.
Matthew:
The actual nut meat. When you pull apart the two halves, if you pull apart carefully, one of them has the little embryo which is the little nub at the end, you know what I'm talking about?
Molly:
The, yes.
Matthew:
And that's called the radicle, R-A-D-I-C-L-E.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
And that's the plant embryo. And then there's two little curly hairs coming off of it and those are the plumules, or embryonic leaves and those form the mustache.
Molly:
Oh my God. This is so cute.
Matthew:
It is. You should definitely teach June about the grandpa peanut or whatever.
Molly:
Hold on. Just to be clear. The radicle must be the nose of the face-
Matthew:
Yes. That's right.
Molly:
... right? Okay. Okay. And then, okay, plumule is the mustache.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
I can't wait to s-
Matthew:
There are no eyes in this old man in the peanut scenario. If you open a peanut and there are eyes, just run.
Molly:
Matthew, I know you haven't been working on any novels lately, but do you-
Matthew:
Not lately.
Molly:
... think you could do one called The Old Man in the Peanut?
Matthew:
I did. It was about an old man who went out every day gathering peanuts and then came upon the biggest peanut that he had ever seen. It was like, you know how exciting it is when you're shelling peanuts and you get one with three peanuts in it? This was like that, only it had a hundred and fifty peanuts in it.
Molly:
Wow.
Matthew:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). But the problem is, it was too big to carry.
Molly:
Okay. Go on, I'm listening.
Matthew:
This is the biggest improv ask you've ever asked of me. And he decided to-
Molly:
Is this like when your kid asks you to make up a story at bedtime and you're like-
Matthew:
You know what? It is exactly like that. My kid is old now and I've been off duty on bedtime stories for a decade. And you're just bringing it all back.
Molly:
Okay. Sorry.
Matthew:
No, I want to talk more about bedtime stories. But he tried to, it was a deep part of the forest because I guess peanuts grow in the forest in this scenario. And he came back and he told everyone like, "I found the biggest peanut you've ever seen." And they were like, "Prove it. Pics or it didn't happen." But this was-
Molly:
This sounds like a metaphor.
Matthew:
... this was before... Exactly. But this was before Instagram, so he couldn't just selfie, take a peanut selfie. Which is not the same as a dick pic. And so he cracked it open and brought back one of the peanuts and everyone was like, "That is just a peanut. What are you talking about?" And-
Molly:
I'm bored.
Matthew:
Yeah. All right. Snacking peanuts. You want to hear what is a peanut?
Molly:
I want to know what's a peanut.
Matthew:
Okay. Peanuts, also known as ground nuts or goobers and the Latin name is Arachis hypogaea [crosstalk 00:09:41]
Molly:
Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Matthew, you can't just breeze past that. Are you going to talk about what ground nut refers to and where goober came from?
Matthew:
I don't know where goober came from. I-
Molly:
Oh my God. What? You are Mr. Etymology sometimes.
Matthew:
I'm miss-
Molly:
Why weren't you today?
Matthew:
... I'm Mr. Ed for short. I'm a talking horse that. At first you're like, "Wow, a talking horse!" And then the horse just goes on and on about word origins. And you're like, "I have to get out of this barn immediately."
Molly:
It's [inaudible 00:10:17]. I am Mr. Etymology.
Matthew:
Well, a horse is a horse which comes from the Latin for-
Molly:
Oh, that was a good one.
Matthew:
Where does the word horse come from? Anywhere, I don't know why they're called goobers. They're called ground nuts because they grow in the ground. Which we'll get to in detail in just a minute.
Molly:
Okay. Okay. Okay.
Matthew:
And they are a widely grown staple legume native to South America.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
And humans have been eating peanuts for millennia. Longer than horses have been talking. First, in wild form, wild peanuts as you might expect are rangier and-
Molly:
Oh-
Matthew:
... smaller nuts.
Molly:
... oh.
Matthew:
What?
Molly:
Oh. You can't see me-
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
... but I'm raising my hand.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
When you were in grade school, movies that used to come on film reels, right?
Matthew:
Oh yeah, I guess there were film strips that were like a slide show with narration, but then there were also films. Yeah.
Molly:
Yeah, yeah. We would, every now and then, we would have library period a couple times a week when I was in elementary school. We would go to the school library and do what you do in libraries. But every now and then during our library period, our librarian, John Blevins, shout out to John Blevins, such a gentle librarian-y person.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
He would show a film called Hank the Peanut. It was a stop motion animation film.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
And it was about this peanut. Its village was under attack by the wild forks.
Matthew:
Oh.
Molly:
It was a delightful little film. I would love to hear from any listeners who also grew up watching the film Hank the Peanut.
Matthew:
I'm not familiar with the film. I feel like eating peanuts with a fork would be very challenging. Is that how they allude the fork invasion? It's just like being round and hard and hard to pick up with a fork?
Molly:
No. The setting here was like a wild west. No, no, I'm not even kidding.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
It was very dusty. There were tumbleweeds and all the peanuts were still in their shells. They could kind of stand up and walk as I recall.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
Or maybe sort of scoot along.
Matthew:
Oh, like Mr. Peanut.
Molly:
But anyway, the forks slithered along the ground like snakes.
Matthew:
Oh! That's disturbing.
Molly:
Yeah. It was completely unrelated to what we think about when we think about eating peanuts and using forks. It was fully made into this fantastical world and it was magical.
Matthew:
Forks slithering around of their own accord is what I imagine a bad acid trip to be.
Molly:
Yes.
Matthew:
Right?
Molly:
Yes. There was an Ann Patchett essay not too long ago in Harper's where she talked about doing, oh my God, I think it was, I think she did 'shrooms with a friend. And she had a really bad trip her friend had a really good trip and the way that she describes the bad trip is so artful.
Matthew:
Okay. No, I haven't read that. I definitely will. We can link to that in show notes, right?
Molly:
Yeah. Right now I'm-
Matthew:
Okay, great.
Molly:
... Googling Hank the Peanut.
Matthew:
There have been peanut pods dated to 7600 years ago found in Peru and images of peanuts appear in pre-contact Mesoamerican art. These days, the largest producer of peanuts is China, which produces 7.3 million tons in 2018. And peanuts are grown worldwide in tropical and subtropical zones. That's the back story. Here's where things get wacky and I didn't know any of this.
Matthew:
I did know that unlike most legumes... Is it legume or legyume or something else?
Molly:
Legume.
Matthew:
Is it Foghorn Leghorn?
Molly:
Yep. Foghorn Leghorn.
Matthew:
Legume. Is that what you said?
Molly:
Legume.
Matthew:
Legume.
Molly:
Legume.
Matthew:
Okay. If you say it enough times, you go into a trance and believe that peanuts are alive and forks can slither. No, we have to pause because Molly sent me a text with a picture of, oh wow.
Molly:
It turns out that the movie is called Hank the Cave Peanut. Look how adorable it is.
Matthew:
Oh, its very cute. I'm just looking at the picture that came through with the text. And the headline is In These Animated Movies for Kids, Peanuts are the Stars.
Molly:
Aren't they always?
Matthew:
And in the picture it seems to be a peanut that's an old timey newspaper editor sitting behind a desk that says editor.
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). That's what editors always do.
Matthew:
Okay. We definitely recommend that movie.
Molly:
Okay, great.
Matthew:
Okay. Unlike most legumes. I said it wrong again. This is very upsetting.
Molly:
Just go on.
Matthew:
Peanut pods. The peanut pods grow underground. And I knew that because I'd seen them for sale. Alvarez Farms sometimes will have a peanut plant where you can see that the peanuts were growing underground. But here's what I didn't know. Growing your fruit underground is known as geocarpy. The peanut pod is the fruit of the plant because it has the seeds in it. Right?
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Matthew:
Geocarpy is when the plant deposits its fruit underground and it's a very unusual strategy because usually the plant wants its fruit to go away and start a new plant somewhere else.
Molly:
Right.
Matthew:
And the Latin name Arachis hypogaea means underground Arachis. Arachis being a vetch-like plant obviously.
Molly:
What?
Matthew:
And here's-
Molly:
Obviously.
Matthew:
I tried to figure out what Arachis meant and the best I could come up with was it was Greek for something in the vetch family.
Molly:
Okay, all right.
Matthew:
I just wanted to vetch because it's a fun word. Here's the thing I didn't realize. Peanut fruits, the pods, are not attached to the roots of the plant, they are totally different from that. The plant produces a budding ovary called a peg that dives down into the soil away from the roots and deposits the fruit underground. So the peg grows out of the ground, produces this wacky pointy stem that grows back into the ground and forms the peanut there.
Molly:
Wait a minute. Okay. I'm picturing it. You've got the plant, it's got its leaves, whatever. Do you see the peg? Does it come up about the ground and go back under the ground?
Matthew:
Yes, because it comes from the flower.
Molly:
Oh my God. Okay. I get it.
Matthew:
Yeah. To produce a fruit-
Molly:
Oh!
Matthew:
... you have to have a fertilized flower.
Molly:
Oh, okay.
Matthew:
And peanuts are self fertilizing.
Molly:
Why in the sense of evolution, why do we think the peanut keeps its fruit underground?
Matthew:
Timidity. The prevailing theory seems to be protection against drought and fire.
Molly:
Okay. Okay.
Matthew:
Yeah. If you leave peanuts alone, they'll just slowly crawl across the landscape propagating very slowly.
Molly:
I want to suggest that maybe we could learn in this age of climate change from the peanut. Maybe we need to live underground as well.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
To escape heat and fires.
Matthew:
Do you want to start?
Molly:
I'm going to go start-
Matthew:
Do you want to go first?
Molly:
... constructing my peg.
Matthew:
Well, physiologically?
Molly:
No, it was more, I was thinking everything comes back to the hatch from Lost. And I'm-
Matthew:
Yeah, yeah. I get it.
Molly:
... going to construct a hatch is what I'm saying. And I'm going to go down in it. And I'm going to keep all my-
Matthew:
Okay. I feel like-
Molly:
... fruit there.
Matthew:
... maybe things could be improved around here if I would just watch at least season two of Lost and rewatch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Then we would have-
Molly:
And watch-
Matthew:
... so much common ground.
Molly:
... Hank the Cave Peanut.
Matthew:
And watch Hank the Cave Peanut. Right, of course. Okay. Yeah. You're going to grow a peg and deposit yourself underground.
Molly:
Okay. Back to botany. You say here that peanuts are self pollinating. Help me picture all of this here with this weird plant.
Matthew:
Okay. Self pollinating just means that the flower can fertilize itself and it doesn't require an insect or other pollinator.
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Matthew:
That doesn't really tell you anything about what the plant looks like or how it propagates. It's just about what the flowers do when no one's looking.
Molly:
That's what it's all about really.
Matthew:
Yeah. But if you look up a picture of a peanut plant, you'll see what I mean especially if it's a diagram.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
A botanical diagram of these pegs reaching out and snorkeling down underground and depositing peanuts.
Molly:
Sort of like spelunking plants.
Matthew:
They are spelunking plants. I think that's the order that they're in. Spelunkoides.
Molly:
Okay. Oh, wow, this is really interesting.
Matthew:
Isn't that wild?
Molly:
It's really-
Matthew:
I had no idea.
Molly:
... wild. It's like, I can't even describe how weird it is.
Matthew:
You know what it's like? They're the squirrels of plants.
Molly:
They are the squirrels-
Matthew:
Squirrels store-
Molly:
... of plants.
Matthew:
... store their nuts underground or-
Molly:
They're hiding their nuts.
Matthew:
Do squirrels hide nuts underground?
Molly:
Mmm, maybe in trees.
Matthew:
Or just in a tree stump? Okay, anyway squirrels hide their nuts. So do peanuts. They're the same.
Molly:
Taxonomically the same.
Matthew:
Taxonomically yes. Yes.
Molly:
Okay. Matthew, there are many different types of peanuts.
Matthew:
Yeah. I tried to understand what are the types of, the varieties of peanuts that we might meet in the course of our day. And quickly got very confused. But what I learned is there are four varieties of peanuts that are widely grown not just in the U.S., I think everywhere. Runner, Virginia, Spanish and Valencia. And the Spanish are really easy to spot because those are the ones with the thin, red edible skins.
Molly:
Yes. Yes.
Matthew:
Like beer nuts.
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Matthew:
And other than that, I kept just finding sites telling me what are the high points of various peanut varieties. The Virginia peanuts are the big and plump and great for snacking. And the runner peanuts are great for making peanut butter. They're all great and they're all peanuts and we should just all enjoy them.
Molly:
Okay. You've got these spelunking legumes. How do you prepare them for eating?
Matthew:
In order to be eaten, they can either be picked green, unripe and boiled for boiled peanuts which we're going to learn more about in the future. But typically peanuts are roasted. And they can be roasted in three different ways.
Matthew:
First of all, they can be roasted in the shell or out of the shell. But if they're roasted out of the shell, they can be fried which is sometimes referred to I think kind of euphemistically as oil roasted. They can be dry roasted which is the most common which is really just baking them on a big sheet. Or they can be blister roasted which is when they're blanched in water for 10 minutes and then fried so the skin gets blistery. Have you ever had the blister peanuts from Trader Joe's?
Molly:
I don't think I have.
Matthew:
They're in the blue bag. They're really good.
Molly:
Okay. And you do you notice the blistered exterior?
Matthew:
You definitely notice the blistered exterior and something about that roasting method makes the peanuts crunchier.
Molly:
Oh.
Matthew:
Which is not always what I want in a snacking peanut, but it's a very satisfying crunch.
Molly:
Okay. How cool.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
Okay. Okay. The salted peanuts in the shell, the brining situation.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
Can you talk more about that. I think this is super cool.
Matthew:
Yeah. Literally I think all they do is clean the shell and soak them in a salty brine and then roast them to both dry them and impart the roasted flavor and also roasting prolongs the shelf life of the peanuts. But the salt gets in there. And if you get a commercial salted peanut in the shell and lick the shell, it's very salty. But then if you lick the peanut inside, it's also very salty.
Molly:
Question. Do you think that this kind of roasting of brined peanuts, would this be a low temperature roasting for a while. Because that's a lot of vegetable matter to dry out.
Matthew:
I don't know the answer, but that certainly seems plausible to me.
Molly:
Okay. Okay.
Matthew:
We need to start a list. We're already making a list of post pandemic episodes and fun things we want to do. We should add visit a peanut factory.
Molly:
Yes. Okay, maybe on another corporate retreat.
Matthew:
Yes. Okay.
Molly:
Oh yes, this is exciting.
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
Okay, wait. Let's get to the part that everybody's been waiting for which is snacking on peanuts.
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
Do you snack on peanuts, Matthew?
Matthew:
I snack on peanuts all the time. My favorite... really.
Molly:
I love that pause there.
Matthew:
Oh, I wasn't sure if you were going to-
Molly:
Full stop.
Matthew:
... respond.
Molly:
I snack on peanuts all the time.
Matthew:
All the time. End of episode. Mr. Ed, out.
Molly:
Go on.
Matthew:
And then I gallop away.
Molly:
Okay, but wait.
Matthew:
Wait-
Molly:
In what form do you by them? Do you buy them, I know that you are a big fan of, is it the Target brand mixed salted nuts?
Matthew:
I am a huge fan of Target's Good & Gather brand-
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
... of mixed nuts. But those are not the peanuts I typically buy.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
I usually get Kroger brand peanuts in the peanut can shaped can. And they're great.
Molly:
Oh, in the peanut can shaped can, not the squat cylinder that-
Matthew:
No, that's what I mean. I call that a peanut can.
Molly:
That's not shaped like a peanut.
Matthew:
It's not shaped like a peanut. It's if you had a can, a tennis ball can isn't shaped like a tennis ball.
Molly:
Fine. Okay, I get it. I get it.
Matthew:
When I was in the band Cat Piss Lint Trap in 1996, we had a song called No More Peanuts in the Peanut Can. And I'm going to sing it for you right now. It went like this (singing). And then I think at one point it said (singing).
Molly:
Wow, Matthew. Did you write these lyrics?
Matthew:
I did not. We hired a professional lyricist.
Molly:
I'm going to move on.
Matthew:
Bernie Taupin wrote these lyrics.
Molly:
Okay. When do you eat peanuts as opposed to mixed nuts?
Matthew:
That's a good question because we usually have both of them in the house. And I will reach for mixed nuts a little more often. But sometimes I just want a peanut and usually preferably more than one.
Molly:
Do you-
Matthew:
That was a great answer to your question, wasn't it?
Molly:
God, that's amazing. I can see your whole routine so clearly now. Have you ever has peanuts at a baseball game?
Matthew:
The reason I put that on the agenda, and I really appreciate the enthusiastic read that you gave to it, is because last night I was like, "I feel like there's a bunch of peanut stuff that I'm leaving off this agenda. Wife of the show, Laurie, do you have any ideas?" And she was like, "People eat peanuts at baseball games."
Molly:
Have you ever been to a baseball game?
Matthew:
I have.
Molly:
I haven't.
Matthew:
I think two times.
Molly:
Wow.
Matthew:
It was pretty fun, actually. Once I saw the Seattle Mariners and once I saw the Durham Bulls.
Molly:
Did you eat peanuts?
Matthew:
I don't think so, but it's possible.
Molly:
Okay. All right. How about, have you gone to one of those bars where you get to eat peanuts and throw the shells on the floor?
Matthew:
I have not, but it really, it sounds like more fun than it probably really is.
Molly:
Yeah.
Matthew:
Wouldn't it be fun to get to litter? I understand-
Molly:
I mean just, no, no, I understand.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
I can take this out of any framework about morality-
Matthew:
Right, that's what I'm saying.
Molly:
... or whatever.
Matthew:
I'm not arguing that people should just litter. I'm saying wouldn't this be a fun way to break the rules. If there were no consequences. For the environment or yourself.
Molly:
Yeah. Okay. Yes.
Matthew:
You're walking down the street-
Molly:
So fun.
Matthew:
... you're eating a peanut or-
Molly:
Just throw it on the floor. Just who gives a fuck.
Matthew:
... yeah, throw, yeah. You're walking down the street. You're eating your 7-Eleven hotdog and the little paper carton of the hotdog, just fling it over your shoulder like you just don't give a shit.
Molly:
Yeah. This sounds like so much fun.
Matthew:
Okay. Here's what I want to propose. That next time we can get together, we're going to get some peanuts and some 7-Eleven hotdogs. I don't know why 7-Eleven hotdogs is the thing that came to mind except it just feels right the litter something from 7-Eleven. We're just going to walk down my block and just throw litter for a 10-foot length.
Molly:
And then-
Matthew:
And then go back and pick it up.
Molly:
Well no. What I was going to suggest is that maybe we have producer Abby half a block behind us and she surreptitiously picks up the litter so you and I get to maintain the illusion that we littered.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
But then someone is there to pick it up.
Matthew:
I think we would have to pay producer Abby a lot more to literally pick up our garbage.
Molly:
Pick up our litter. Yeah.
Matthew:
It's true that she does pick up our verbal garbage week after week. But this is a whole different level of demeaning.
Molly:
Yeah. Okay. She was just the first person that came to mind.
Matthew:
No, no, that's fair.
Molly:
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No. We can get my kid to do it.
Matthew:
Perfect.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
Yeah, no. No, your kid's probably still young enough that she thinks doing good deeds can be fun. Which guess what?
Molly:
We're rapidly outgrowing that.
Matthew:
Okay. Yeah.
Molly:
The clock is ticking.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
Okay. Matthew, I want to talk about snacking on peanuts now. I notice you-
Matthew:
Oh. It's a-
Molly:
... haven't been asking me-
Matthew:
... good episode for that.
Molly:
... anything. This is one of those dates where I'm basically just-
Matthew:
Sorry.
Molly:
... interviewing you and you don't care about me.
Matthew:
I asked you about memory lane. I did the research and I gave you a bunch-
Molly:
No, that's fine.
Matthew:
... of peanut botany facts. I was just about... You asked me when do you snack on peanuts and I was about to turn it back to you.
Molly:
Okay. Okay.
Matthew:
After a very long detour about how fun it is to litter.
Molly:
Okay. True to form, the first thing that came to mind for me when I think about snacking on peanuts, strangely enough, is being in a café in Paris.
Matthew:
Wow.
Molly:
I know this is very on brand for me, but really, I haven't done this in more than a decade. But I remember it, I think, very clearly because at the time that I was there, I was so newly legally able to drink, at least in the U.S.-
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
... that the idea of going to a café after work before the sun set even and sitting there and watching the world go by while drinking a glass of white wine or something-
Matthew:
Okay, sure.
Molly:
... it sounded unfathomably adult.
Matthew:
Yeah. Oh, definitely.
Molly:
And anyway, but what I do remember at least from the café where I would maybe, one of the cafe's in my neighborhood where I would sometimes go sit was that if you ordered a glass of white wine and it was after lunchtime. I think this only happened starting in mid afternoon-
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
... they would bring out a little flat bottomed dish of salted peanuts that went along with it.
Matthew:
Wow!
Molly:
Isn't that just so-
Matthew:
It's delightful.
Molly:
... it's so right.
Matthew:
Was there a morning equivalent to the peanuts?
Molly:
Well, you wouldn't order wine in the morning.
Matthew:
Okay. Do you remember the name of the café?
Molly:
Sometimes when they bring you your coffee in the morning, they might bring you a little tiny bar of chocolate. Other places would sometimes bring out a little dish of olives.
Matthew:
Okay. That's makes sense.
Molly:
Just some ordinary olive, but that was quite delicious.
Matthew:
[French language 00:30:05]
Molly:
Yes. But yeah, this is a very normal thing. And I should say too that this was no precious wine. Yeah, anyway, it was just delightful. And oh God, I-
Matthew:
What?
Molly:
... I want that right now.
Matthew:
Yes. But you would not-
Molly:
Right?
Matthew:
... throw the shells on the floor.
Molly:
I would not, well no, there were no shells.
Matthew:
There were no shells.
Molly:
They were shelled.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
They were shelled.
Matthew:
Do you remember the name of the café that you would go to in the neighborhood?
Molly:
The one that I'm thinking of where I really remember enjoying watching the world to by with a glass of white wine was on [French 00:30:38] in the 11th [French 00:30:41] and I feel like it was called [French 00:30:45] or something like that.
Matthew:
I like it.
Molly:
But there were a couple. At any given intersection there's often more than one café and I think that there were two side-by-side on the same side of the intersection there. And I think I'm messing up the names.
Matthew:
No, but I feel like cafes in Paris are like towns in England. They all have good names.
Molly:
Yeah. Even if the name is very ordinary. It's-
Matthew:
It's still just right.
Molly:
It's still just right. This leads me into the question what particular beverages do we like to drink with peanuts? And the first thing I would say is yeah, an ordinary white wine.
Matthew:
Would you say-
Molly:
Really cold.
Matthew:
... the wine-
Molly:
Really cold.
Matthew:
... crackling cold.
Molly:
Crackling cold as Tony Negroni would say.
Matthew:
Right. I think that sounds great. I think beer is very good with peanuts.
Molly:
Beer-
Matthew:
I know I'm-
Molly:
... yeah. Beer I think-
Matthew:
... really going out on a limb.
Molly:
... is the natural choice.
Matthew:
And I think Coca-cola is very good with peanuts.
Molly:
Oh, yes. That caramel-y-
Matthew:
I don't think I've ever done the thing where you put the peanuts in the coke and I'm skeptical. I feel like that's a thing that a kid would have to show you when you were a kid-
Molly:
Yeah.
Matthew:
... in order to really enjoy it. Whereas my think was a kid showing me how to stick a red vine into a soda.
Molly:
Or how to find the face on a peanut.
Matthew:
Or how to find the peanut face.
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). What I was going to say is that yeah, the caramel-y sweetness of Coca-cola is the perfect foil. The perfect non-alcoholic foil for that salty rich peanutty thing.
Matthew:
I feel like that is the most on brand food person thing that either of us has ever said.
Molly:
I know. I'm really sorry about it.
Matthew:
No, it was great.
Molly:
Anyway, I don't really like buying peanuts in the shell. I think buying peanuts in the shell or having peanuts in the shell is a social thing that you do when you go out for a drink maybe in a bar or a pub or something with friends and you want to draw out the encounter, do you know what I mean?
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
Because shelling peanuts takes a while. It's-
Matthew:
I think you're absolutely right.
Molly:
... like eating shrimp with the shell on.
Matthew:
Yeah. You're right.
Molly:
It takes longer and so there's something really slowing down about it that seems really nice. But most of the time, no. I just want my peanuts shelled.
Matthew:
Yeah. No. That's interesting. We have a lot of activities like that. Drinking is one of those. But karaoke or board games or something to help you feel like you don't have to keep the conversation going nonstop, but you want to spend an extended amount of time with people.
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Matthew:
Or you could start a podcast with them.
Molly:
Yep. What else do we have to say, Matthew?
Matthew:
Okay. I already talked about how special it is when you get three peanuts in one shell. I don't actually remember the last time I had a peanut in the shell. Probably a couple years ago. Probably from Alvarez Farm. I wanted to mention quickly Planters dry roasted peanuts which I feel like were the most common peanut I would get growing up. And I didn't like them very much. And still don't like them very much. And the reason is, they have a seasoning blend on them with some dried spices and stuff-
Molly:
Oh.
Matthew:
... which I feel is completely unnecessary.
Molly:
I don't think I've ever been aware of that.
Matthew:
Yeah. If you try one of those Planters dry roasted peanuts next to a Kroger plain sea salt peanut, they're very different.
Molly:
Huh. Okay. All right. This is thought provoking.
Matthew:
It is. Yeah. Shots fired at Mr. Peanut-
Molly:
Do you ever buy-
Matthew:
... is what I'm saying.
Molly:
... honey roasted peanuts?
Matthew:
I don't think you can say shots fired about something you just said yourself. Yes. I love honey roasted peanuts. Do you get them?
Molly:
I don't know if I've ever bought them. But if I'm offered on an airplane, if I'm ever offered honey roasted peanuts again, if I'm ever on an airplane again-
Matthew:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Molly:
... I'm going to pounce on those things.
Matthew:
I know exactly what you mean. I feel like there was a long period where I didn't realize honey roasted peanuts were something you could buy for yourself.
Molly:
I think I still don't realize that.
Matthew:
Well, today is your lucky day. Trader Joe's honey roasted peanuts are fantastic.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
Good to know.
Matthew:
Any honey roasted peanuts are fantastic.
Molly:
Yeah. Okay. I got to make a run to TJ's.
Matthew:
The thing I will say about honey roasted peanuts though is I don't feel like they taste like honey at all.
Molly:
No.
Matthew:
I think honey is being used as a euphemism for sugar. Which is fine. I don't need honey. [inaudible 00:35:11] I don't need honey and I don't need you either.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
I'm talking my podcast and going home and I'm going to put it underground for safe keeping.
Molly:
Is there anything else we need to say about peanuts?
Matthew:
There's one thing before we go into our other segments. There's something I like to make that I refer to as Matthew's ultimate trail mix. It can be made with mixed nuts, but I think it's best with peanuts and it's 50% salted peanuts, 50% Ghirardelli 60% chocolate chips.
Molly:
Wow.
Matthew:
It's very good.
Molly:
That sounds great.
Matthew:
I'm going to have some today.
Molly:
Oh, that sounds awesome. Okay.
Matthew:
I'm going to have some right after we're done with this.
Molly:
Okay. Wow. You've got your priorities straight, man.
Matthew:
Thank you. What's new in the world of quilting?
Molly:
Oh my God, I finished hand quilting my quilt, Matthew. It's fully, my sandwich is fully stitched together.
Matthew:
Yeah it is.
Molly:
If I have enough time today, I am going to trim down the quilt because right now, as you may recall, there are three layers to the quilt sandwich; the quilt top, the batting and the backing.
Matthew:
Yep-
Molly:
Right now-
Matthew:
... I'm really glad you didn't make me come up with those on my own.
Molly:
... right now the batting and the backing extend beyond the quilt top because that's something, you usually cut them a little bigger than the quilt top to leave room for wiggling. But now, shh-
Matthew:
Wait, wait I'm sorry. Is the person under the quilt wiggling or something else wiggling?
Molly:
No, wiggling around of the sandwich as you're stitching it together.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
Okay? Now I need to go and trim the batting and the backing to be squared up with the top and then I've got to do the binding. And there's a certain amount of the binding that is just really, God. Do you remember how I told you that fully 75 to possibly 85% of sewing is ironing?
Matthew:
Yes. Yes I do remember.
Molly:
I have a lot of ironing coming up and trying to make certain things match up and trying to fold a corner the right way. I'm just tired thinking about it. But I want to be hand-stitching again. This was my big takeaway for making this quilt. I love hand-stitching quilts.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
Mic drop.
Matthew:
When it's finished, is it finished?
Molly:
No. Not-
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
... quite.
Matthew:
All right. When it's finished, can we post a picture of it on the Reddit or something?
Molly:
Sure. Yeah, yeah.
Matthew:
Okay. Yeah.
Molly:
Yeah.
Matthew:
I think people would love to see that because I think this is our most popular segment.
Molly:
It is absolutely not.
Matthew:
I think most people at this point probably just fast forward to get to the quilting segment. All right. Would you like to hear about some cute animals you need to know?
Molly:
Oh yes.
Matthew:
I have one that is definitely cute animals and one that kind of marginal. I'm going to direct you to a video called Cyclist Meets Family of Skunks.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
And these skunks are adorable, but what's best about them is they come out of the woods in a pack of four or five skunks that stick really closely together and just book down this road like, "Hey. There's a human. We need to see what's going on here and see if there's some food or something." And just the enthusiasm with which these skunks run down this rural road is, I think it's something we could all learn from. And also then at the end of the video, they run back to the woods.
Molly:
I watched this video yesterday. But I'm going to watch it again because I want to give some live commentary-
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
... of what these guys look like running down the road.
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
It is like a crazy band of waving fur. There's a weird geometry that happens as they assemble themselves as they come toward the cyclist. The pack sort of splits apart and then comes back together.
Matthew:
Yep.
Molly:
And it's very visually pleasing.
Matthew:
Yeah, like Super Friends or Voltron or something.
Molly:
I don't know what you're talking about. But anyway, oh my God, it's so cute and I do not know how this cyclist held still. A skunk even puts its paw on top of the cyclist's foot.
Matthew:
I know. Yeah, I would've freaked out.
Molly:
Anyway, but hold on there. About to go running off down the road, yep, the parent gets them going. And yeah, they scamper down the road and it is so cute watching their dumb little tails. I say dumb in-
Matthew:
I know.
Molly:
... the most loving way. Oh my God. The spirit with which they run off down the street, you expect them to turn around and wave and yell "Bye!"
Matthew:
Yeah. Like, "Our job here is done."
Molly:
Oh my God, they're precious. Precious-
Matthew:
Yes.
Molly:
... boo-boos.
Matthew:
The other cute animal which is not really an animal, it comes from a discussion that wife of the show Laurie and I were having this morning in which I don't remember how she came across this, but she said, "Did you know that there's a Hostess mascot called Fruit Pie the Magician?
Molly:
What?
Matthew:
And I was like, "There is?" But apparently this is a discontinued mascot. But then she started telling me that there's a whole list of Hostess mascots. I didn't have time to write a quiz because this just-
Molly:
Fruit Pie-
Matthew:
... happened this morning.
Molly:
... the what?
Matthew:
Fruit Pie the Magician.
Molly:
Oh. Wow.
Matthew:
Yeah. Which was, and Fruit Pie the Magician-
Molly:
Oh God, yeah.
Matthew:
... has their own Wikipedia page.
Molly:
Why on earth is he a magician?
Matthew:
I guess because-
Molly:
And what does he do?
Matthew:
... Hostess Fruit Pies are so magical because it's some gloop inside a pocket.
Molly:
His favorite magic trick-
Matthew:
And how did they get the gloop in there?
Molly:
... is to make Hostess Fruit Pies appear out of thin air.
Matthew:
Okay.
Molly:
Okay. I could go for that.
Matthew:
Yeah. I know we've talked about those Hostess Fruit Pies before, but they are the thing for me that I will eat one and they're quite tasty and I will feel so bad afterwards.
Molly:
I can't even do it.
Matthew:
It's-
Molly:
I can't even do it.
Matthew:
... yeah.
Molly:
But oh, Matthew. If you look at the Fruit Pie the Magician Wikipedia page-
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
... and scroll down and click on Twinkie the Kid, now talk about a cute animal.
Matthew:
Oh yeah. Twinkie the Kid was the one that I had heard of.
Molly:
Oh God, Twinkie-
Matthew:
Yeah.
Molly:
... the Kid-
Matthew:
Twinkie the Kid-
Molly:
... was so cute.
Matthew:
... is adorable.
Molly:
What about Captain Cupcake? Yeah, he's pretty cute too. God, look at that sweet pudgy little belly. I just want to poke it.
Matthew:
Yep. Captain Cupcake, Happy Ho Ho-
Molly:
Happy Ho Ho.
Matthew:
... King Ding Dong.
Molly:
King Ding Dong?
Matthew:
Chauncey Chocodile, Suzy, this is from a Wikipedia page that anyone can edit so it's possible that King Ding Dong isn't real and I'm afraid to Google King Ding Dong. Suzy-Q and Chipper Brownie. I did confirm that Chipper Brownie is real. It's just a happy brownie.
Molly:
Wow. Okay. Okay.
Matthew:
It's maybe represents a brownie who has eaten a pot brownie. Yeah. Those are the cute animals that you need to know this week. And I think we're done.
Molly:
Oh my God. Thank God. I need a nap now.
Matthew:
I think we need to assemble and run back into the forest.
Molly:
Yeah, yeah.
Matthew:
You can find us at spilledmilkpodcast.com where it will link to the cute animal video and probably something peanut related in the show notes which you can find in your podcast player if you get info about the episode.
Molly:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Matthew:
You can find us... Reddit. Reddit.com/r/EverythingSpilledMilk.
Molly:
I also want to add that our producer, Abby Cerquitella, is absolutely not obligated to pick up our garbage.
Matthew:
But the way you phrased that, like if you're boss is-
Molly:
She's invited to if she wants-
Matthew:
Right, right-
Molly:
... to, but she's not obligated.
Matthew:
... I've been in this situation at work where it's not clear if my boss is saying like, "It'd be cool if you could get around to this," or like, "You absolutely must do this."
Molly:
Yeah. Okay. Sorry about that. No, but I really-
Matthew:
No, it's all right.
Molly:
... mean it.
Matthew:
And until next time, thank you for listening to Spilled Milk, the show that always leaves room for wiggling. I'm Matthew Amster-Burton.
Molly:
I'm Molly Wizenberg.
Molly:
That was like a Howard Dean scream I did.
Matthew:
Yeah, it was. Yeah, that's a thing everybody remembers.
Molly:
Okay.
Matthew:
Nothing [inaudible 00:43:27] has happened in politics since then so we're-
Molly:
No.
Matthew:
... so we're still kind of fixated on that.
Molly:
No.