There are a number of us normal humanoids who like to eat with intentions of stimulating our human senses. Of course I am speaking way beyond the limits of the sense of taste. That is a given.

This thought came to mind when I posted a status update on Facebook. It was a simple idea that I had heated up my peanuts before munching on them. Several people made inquiries about my behavior.

All of this started because of a number of airline flights. During the travel the flight attendants came by and offered a small porcelain container of mixed nuts. It was part of their refreshment offerings.

It was hard to turn them down. The aroma of the nuts made my mouth water. When I reached out to accept the snack I was surprised to feel the warmth from the container.

Yes, the nuts had been warmed up. When I popped a couple into my mouth, the sensation made me take note with surprise. I liked it.

Later on the attendant came by with seconds. My smile and eagerness caught her attention. I expressed my delight and told her how delicious these were.

She laughed and confessed that she just popped them into the microwave to get the effect. While she didn’t eat any, she loved the wonderful aroma. It was just like fresh roasted peanuts from days gone by.

I remember those days long ago. Do you remember going to the circus? It was more than just the snow cones and cotton candy but peanuts too. Not only did the walking vendors just call out “Peanuts!” they gave it a flourish, “Get you fresh roasted hot peanuts!”

Then, the aroma brought up many hands and children squealed to get warm peanuts. The cotton candy could wait. Of course a nice carbonated beverage came soon afterward to quench the thirst from the salted peanuts.

Yvonne came home the other day from a shopping venture. She went to Costco and brought home a huge bag of salted peanuts. Her comical words were fun-loving, “Start eating.”

When I suggested that we heat them up, she gave me a blank stare. With a smile I put a generous handful in a glass bowl, punched 45 seconds and pressed start. It was a good thing that the time was brief since the aroma began permeating the kitchen quickly. I wasn’t the only one eating peanuts that night.

photo credit: ijango photo