Kitchen diary, 25/07/13
Jul. 25th, 2013 11:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desperanceLast autumn, we were hectic with squirrels gathering up what fell from trees all up and down this street.
It took me shamefully long to figure out that those were walnuts, and these were walnut trees.
This year, I was determined to be proactive. What can I say? I'm English; I like pickled walnuts. It's a thing.*
Tragically, my determination is not, on its own, enough. I also need impetus, and it took just that little bit too long to build it up. This morning I gleaned a kilo of low-hanging green fruits from the walnut trees, and on examination, I guess I'm about three weeks too late; they've started hardening off the shell inside. Which means they won't pickle. I think.
Still: I have the walnuts, so. I'm going to go ahead anyway, and just see what happens. I've pricked 'em with a fork and immersed 'em in a brine, where they will welter for a couple of weeks before being dried out and pickled in a syrup of vinegar.
Meanwhile, I have had walnut-juice all over my hands, because of course I don't have rubber gloves. I anticipate staining.
*Also, I dislike American squirrels. It's another thing. They are the bane of the Tufty Club.
It took me shamefully long to figure out that those were walnuts, and these were walnut trees.
This year, I was determined to be proactive. What can I say? I'm English; I like pickled walnuts. It's a thing.*
Tragically, my determination is not, on its own, enough. I also need impetus, and it took just that little bit too long to build it up. This morning I gleaned a kilo of low-hanging green fruits from the walnut trees, and on examination, I guess I'm about three weeks too late; they've started hardening off the shell inside. Which means they won't pickle. I think.
Still: I have the walnuts, so. I'm going to go ahead anyway, and just see what happens. I've pricked 'em with a fork and immersed 'em in a brine, where they will welter for a couple of weeks before being dried out and pickled in a syrup of vinegar.
Meanwhile, I have had walnut-juice all over my hands, because of course I don't have rubber gloves. I anticipate staining.
*Also, I dislike American squirrels. It's another thing. They are the bane of the Tufty Club.