Lunch Without Nuts

I'm deathly allergic to tree nuts. A lot of people who are allergic to tree nuts are also allergic to peanuts, which are not really even a nut - they are a legume. But I am not allergic to peanuts.

Pinenuts are not real nuts. Cornnuts are not nuts, either, by the way - they're CORN. Same with soy nuts.

Today, a customer of my company's came by around lunchtime with a lunch for me. Very exciting, since I get only 1/2 hour for lunch and so can't really go out to a restaurant, and I had planned to eat a boring salad.

I looked in the bag and saw a bottle of water, a fruit cup, a sugar cookie (a Snickerdoodle to be exact) and a container with a sandwich in it: some kind of filling stuff on a French roll, on top of some spring mix and what looked like balsamic vinagrette. "Is this tuna salad?" I asked.
"No; chicken pesto," he replied.
"Okay. Thank you so much!" I said cheerfully.

I LOVE PESTO! The moment he said, "chicken pesto" my mouth filled with saliva.

The trouble is, some pesto is made with basil, olive oil and pinenuts, and some is made with basil, olive oil and WALNUTS. Sadly, I didn't ask, but I don't think the guy who gave me the sandwich would have known, anyhow. He's the driver, not the chef.

I emailed my coworker Becky at her desk. She loves sandwiches.

"I have a sandwich here, it looks very good, but it's got pesto on it, which could have nuts in it. Would you like it?" I typed.

"I'll be right up," she typed back.

At my desk, she scrutinized the sandwich.
"I make my pesto with PINEnuts," she said, being nice.
"I know, but I can't know for sure if this is made with pinenuts or walnuts," I said.
"That really sucks for you," she said, "Because it looks really good. You know, I bet it's not made with walnuts."
"Probably not, but I can't know for sure, so I'd better not," I said, feeling more and more glum.
"Yeah, better not take a chance," she agreed, and disappeared happily with the sandwich.

She kindly made me a baked potato.

So I had baked potato, arugula salad and a fruit cup for lunch.

She told me the chicken pesto sandwich was delicious.

ARGH!

I HATE BEING ALLERGIC TO NUTS! I don't care if I can't eat actual, whole nuts. They're not that excitingly delicious to me. But it really sucks being left out of carrot cake, brownies, and most of all HALF THE PESTO IN SAN FRANCISCO!

But apparently there are special Chinese allergy doctors who can cure people of food allergies in one visit. Should I seek one out? But just so that I can be a pig and eat whatever I want?

I'm going to see a movie with another co-worker today after work. "We have to get snacks before we go in to the movie!" she said cutely, when I saw her at lunch time.
"Okay!" I replied happily. "Want some salad dressing? I made it - it's all organic - it's tamari, tahini, rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar..."
"Sugar?" she said, "I can't... I'm not eating sugar."

WHAT? What kind of yummy snacks can we share at the movies if she can't have SUGAR?!

Just popcorn, I guess. No sugar, no pesto... Jeez...why even eat? WHY EVEN HAVE TASTEBUDS?!