That's right, in case you hadn't heard, the macadamia nut giant, Mauna Loa, was in trouble with the EPA. It seems that the EPA had told Mauna Loa in 2004 that it needed to clean up three cesspools on its property by April of the next year. But guess what was still there when the EPA inspected in 2005? Yep, the cesspools were still in use.

Everything is all well, now. Mauna Loa has cleaned up, instituted a new wastewater system, and agreed to pay a $75,000 fine to the EPA. Wouldn't it have just been cheaper to do that in the first place?

[Via kitv.com]

I used to hate macadamia nuts with a passion. When I was a child and then a teen they just didn't taste right to me. Maybe it was from years of eating just cashews and pistachios and almonds all the time, I don't know, but I just didn't enjoy them at all.

Then I went to Hawaii in the 80's, and everything changed.

I'm sure you've heard that chocolate is bad for dogs, but did you know that macadamia nuts are poisonous to dogs? Now that the holidays are starting we tend to have more nuts around to nibble on. If you have dogs in your house you may want to make sure that they don't help themselves to your prized macadamias. When dogs eat them they can get a toxic reaction called macadamia nut toxicosis. Within twelve hours of eating the nuts they start to develop symptoms such as an inability to stand, ataxia (walking wobbly), depression, vomiting, muscle tremors, hyperthermia (elevated body temperature), weakness, and an elevated heart rate.

Usually the symptoms go away within 48 hours but the weakness, vomiting, and fear can lead to dangerous, and sometimes deadly, shock. These symptoms can be even worse if your dog also eats some chocolate with the nuts. Then the effect of both combined is much worse and kidney failure can set in. So enjoy your nuts, but make sure that Lady and the Tramp get their doggy treats instead. Or a nice big bowl of spaghetti to share.

Ever wonder where all of our nuts come from, especially considering that they are easily found in just about every market you could wander into?

• Cashews are grown throughout the tropics, but most come from are India and East Africa. They are never sold in the shell because there is an extremely caustic oil between the inner and outer layers which must be burned off before they can be sold.
• Almonds originated in the Mediterranean, but California now produces 80% of the world's supply.
• Macadamia nuts are native to Australia and were brought to Hawaii about 100 years ago. Commercial production began around 1920 and most of the world's macadamias are now grown on Hawaii.
• Walnuts are the third most popular nut in the US and California produces 2/3 of the world's crop.
• Pecans are native to the Mississippi valley and are the only nut native to the US. Georgia is the largest producer of pecans.
• Hazelnuts, also known as filbert, are primarily grown in Turkey, where 75% of the world's supply comes from. Almost all the US grown hazelnuts are from Oregon's Willamette valley
• Pistachio production is the largest in Iran, which accounts for about 40% of the international crop. The US is the second largest producer, with almost 30% of the crop, 98% of which is grown in California.
• Peanuts are not really nuts, but are legumes and members of the pea family (only included here as they most often grouped with nuts). China is the largest producer, with almost 40% of the world crop. India has almost 25%and the U.S., the third largest producing country, has only 6%. Roughly 2/3 of the global peanut crops are processed into peanut oil.
• Brazil nuts are resistant to cultivation and are still primarily harvested from the wild in South America.

[sources, source]

A mini muffin is just not as cute when it isn't tucked inside a miniature wrapper. The downside, of course, is that a portion of the already small morsel will stick to the paper. The upside, however, is that you can simply eat a second muffin to make up for it without any guilt. These are Mini Mocha Macadamia Muffins from Morning Coffee and Afternoon Tea and, although the word "muffin" might inspire thoughts of wholesome fare, these sound deliciously decadent. The muffins are flavored with coffee and cocoa and they are rich with sour cream and butter. On top of that, they are packed with macadamia nuts, white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate. The recipe makes about 48 mini muffins, so be prepared to share them. It shouldn't be hard to find willing friends and family to help polish them off.