The Fruits Of Our Labor

I could feel the great excitement in his voice as he made his way into our apartment holding a little bag in his hand.

Hello babe, how have you been all day? And guess what? It is time we enjoy the fruit of our labor.

I knew something sweet was up his sleeves even though I couldn't figure out what it was just yet.

My day is great babe, as I walked close to hug him.

And what could be our fruits of labor this time around, did you get a huge salary raise at work? Not that honey, just guess what is in the bag in my hand.

Oh no, not now, you know how I'm a terrible guesser, last time I checked, I couldn't even guess to save my dear life.

He couldn't help but smile upon hearing me say that. I tried getting the bag he was holding, I was dying to see what our fruit of labor could be.

But he held onto it so tight, common now, handed it over already, don't make me beg for it.

I rushed to see what was inside the bag when he finally let it go.

Go and cook these nuts he said, and let's see if we were right for planting them six months ago.

What! was the exact word in my mouth when I saw the contents of his bag.

Don't tell me our bambara nuts are mature! Yes, it is, and it is time for us to enjoy it. Let's cook this little one as a test run.

About twenty minutes later, as I was in the kitchen preparing the nuts for our snacks.

The conversation about planting it six months ago kept on replaying in my mind, as I was hoping that hubby was right in letting us venture into planting it instead of other crops.

Six months earlier, He had come home one evening to tell me the great news of finally being able to get access to large plots of land at his workplace.

Getting such land is a great opportunity that we have been praying for since we got into this city. Due to the military environment and the fact that it belongs to the federal government, it is not only vast but it is In a very secure environment.

This made having farmland in such an area come with great peace of mind, free from thieves.

That night, he had told me about planting the Bambara nuts, but the choice of the crop wasn't attractive to me at all.

I would have preferred, crops like groundnuts, watermelon, potatoes, or tomatoes but he argued that those might not yield well on the type of land given to him.

In his words" A colleague of mine recommends we go into bambara nuts on the land. "

I immediately voiced out to ask; why bambara nuts of all things to plant? What is even bambara nuts?

It gives more yield on that type of land compared to other crops we initially had in mind and it is easily marketable in the city market. In case we have plenty and we decide to sell.

He handed over a few seeds to me and said this is what bambara nuts look like but all my effort to recall if I was familiar with the seeds before our discussion was unsuccessful.

Or in the worst case, if we don't fancy eating them, we can sell them off and buy other food crops we love.

Hearing the last part of his words, I think it is fair enough. That week we started the planting. Six months along the line, here are the fruits of our labor indeed, and I'm almost done putting it on our table. To discover if it could be my newfound love or if not we sell all and stock the house for our favorite types of farm products. In any case, it is a win-win for us.

After about ten minutes in the kitchen, our bambara nuts are ready to serve.

I took the first bite and It gave me the feeling of, oh dear nuts where have you been all this while that I have just found you?

I love how it tastes in my mouth, the texture and the sweetness are all on point.

I haven't eaten this before as this type of crop is mostly grown in the northern part of the country, and most of my life until now I have lived in the Western part, even when I visit the northern part and I cross-part with it in the market I never found it interesting.

It has been four days since our first harvest from the farm, and every afternoon I love to have it as a snack. I'm learning more interesting ways to incorporate it into our diets and who knows what my experiment will bring.

It is rich in nutrient, and light in my stomach when eaten which make me not being able to help but love the whole of it.

If someone had told me in the past that I would find a new kind of love with these nuts, I would have disputed it.

Remember what they say, life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you will find

Hubby was right to have followed the counsel of his colleagues, the yield is plentiful compared to those who planted groundnuts on the same land and our harvest is bountiful.

And as it stands, I have a new love interest at hand to explore and enjoy.

All images are mine, this is my entry into this week's creative non-fiction prompt, in the Inkwell community.

Thank you for visiting my blog and for your support, do have a great week.