going all in

Any of you who check in here regularly probably know by now that when we Hoffmans are piqued by a new interest we go ALL IN. We don’t just casually learn a few facts nor spend an hour down an internet rabbit hole to satisfy our curiosity and then move on. Ohhh, no. We can become singular in our attention, and our devotion, and maybe even borderline obsessed. Right now, Steve is in that uniquely Hoffman place with hazelnuts. He is under assignment to write an article on them, due next week, which triggered an entire autumn affair. So now we buy hazelnut oil, hazelnut flour, hazelnut cookies, hazelnut granola and trail mixes, any and all chocolate bars with hazelnuts, and of course, the nuts themselves. Steve has ordered books from Europe, visited hazelnut farms, harvested with the U of M researchers, and walked trails with experts. He probably has enough material to write a book on hazelnuts. But instead he has only a 1200 word article to work within. But that is how we roll at our house. These are hazelnut leaves from the U of M’s hazelnut research center. Hazelnuts are in the birch family, but their fall leaves are so much more colorful than our native birches. Who knew? Steve probably did.

hazel tree (or hazelnut bush) autumn leaves