Hazelnuts are REALLY nuts

Saturday, 13 September 2008

Note to self: A hazelnut is a nut. Hazelnuts grow on trees. Do not eat hazelnuts ever again.

7 am yoga class was a riot as we surprised our teacher with a birthday cake and broke into song at the second to the last posture. Went to lunch with a bunch of yoga regulars at the trendy restaurant Town. We got together to celebrate Janice's recent nuptials and to look at her beautiful wedding pictures. A family friend, Justin Young, was actually our waiter (Hawai'i is just way too small). I have only been here once before, and thought it was overpriced for dinner. But, today's lunch was good, and Justin was right. The fries with all those organic herbs (They grow their own garden and have their own compost area on their property.) were tasty.

After lunch, I went to afternoon tea at the Kahala hotel with teacher friends from school. We were celebrating Emily's birthday. I ordered the only decaffeinated tea, a sweet blend of flowers and herbs, they had on the menu. Yeah, I know, hard to think we're drinking hot tea in a hot climate in the middle of the afternoon (and today was especially humid). It nicely paired with all the delectable treats though....about four different sandwiches and four different sweet things.

That is until I almost went into anaphylactic shock.

Well, just kidding. Not exactly. But, I did have an allergic reaction to something I ate. Within a few minutes, got all congested, my nose starting running, and it was draining into my throat. I started coughing a lot. My throat got all scratchy, and no matter how much tea or water I drank, I couldn't clear it. Slowly, my throat started to close up. I was like, "I think I'm having an allergy attack to something."

I stopped eating and drinking. Within a half hour to an hour, the itchiness in my throat went away. But, my throat was raw from coughing so much.

I headed to pick up Vietnamese pho soup for dinner (the third time this week!) to soothe my throat and congestion. Ran into friends from UW that I haven't seen since college! Lately, I've felt like it's been a reunion summer. Actually, this year was my 15th high school reunion, but I didn't know about it, nor really care to go. Though I've lived in Hawai'i for 3 years now, I haven't really run into so many people from my past until recently.

When I got home, I tried to think of what was on the menu. I called my friend and asked her if there was hazelnut on something. She said that one of the bread thingies we had was coated in hazelnuts.

I know from my previous allergy tests in Seattle that I'm allergic to all sorts of Northwest trees: Alder, Birch, Hazelnut, Oak, Poplar, etc. I love the flavor hazelnut, but I guess hazelnut syrup in your latte wouldn't give you an allergic reaction. I've just never eaten an actual hazelnut before.

Now I know. If I'm allergic to hazelnut trees, then yes, I'm allergic to the nut. So, I probably should avoid eating hazelnuts. At least I know what will happen if I do.