Nuts

Growing up, I remember a huge towering black walnut tree outside of our house. We never ate the walnuts. I remember that the husks turned a deep brown and that your hands were sticky and gooey after touching them. My Aunt Freda had a black walnut somewhere on here property where she lived in Idaho. Whenever we visited she would often have some super sugary walnut desert - and you knew it was black walnut because the dessert always bit back. At our hut - we also have a walnut tree - but this is a "Greek" walnut. A few weeks ago, I asked the guy we are buying the property from if they were ready - and he said - oh yes you can eat them but your hands will turn black. I tried my hand at peeling of the husk and it wouldn't budge and what little pit of shell I did reveal was smooth. I discarded the nut as a lost cause. The next week, the walnuts had "bloomed". The green husk had burst open and inside the walnut sat like an amber gem. I hung a bag around my neck and ran around with rake - knocking the nuts down. At home I washed them and then put them on the balcony to dry. Fresh walnuts are unbelievably tasty - so much richer, more vibrant than the "cured" nut. True, the first day that you crack it - the flesh is full and somewhat slimy - (alister said it looked like a brain and wouldn't touch them till they were farther along in the drying process) but the taste is unbelievable and well worth the minimal "slime" factor. I did have a little bit of a problem with the drying - there wasn't enough air circulation and so I had to finish it off in the oven which made the nuts a bit tough and black in color. If I had waited another week - the nuts would have dried on their own in the tree - hanging on as the leaves fell to the ground and drying in the fall breeze. (I know because I saw our neighbors tree. strangely - our tree is the only walnut in on our street that still has leave. All of the others are bare - except for the walnuts - like Christmas decorations adorning the ends of the branches. I can't help but think that the reason for this has to do with my earlier picking. Next year I will hold out a little longer.