Walnut .... for Kat

blimey Amy that's a big nut!! lol very similar to Kat's pic.

They were huge S.lad I thought it looked very similar to Kats, there were lots of these scattered all around the museum grounds , perhaps they use to grow Walnuts where Kat saw hers and they did the same thing !

that's a good point..it could be :-)

this is beautiful, Amy. A NUT. But far from similar to the one I saw.

8y the way, where is that museum and what do they show there? Souns interesting.

A great feature,Amy..I've not heard of a Walnut museum.It looks very effective..:o)

Kat / Sandra the walnut museum is at Perigord Dordogne , they have groves of walnuts they extract the oil and bottle it they also make a liqueur amongst other things ,I brought some oil home it's very nice drizzled on salsa ... I was picking up fallen walnuts where ever we went perfect for last christmas ..........

I love walnut liqueur. Unfortunately/fortunately it is a rare product here :))

No wonder I hadn't heard of it,Amy..:o) Sounds a lovely place to visit..and I love Walnuts..very good for you too,apparently :o)

I have a bottle on my sideboard Kat I will pour you a tot ..Cheers ! walnut are my favourite nuts Sandra apparently they are good for the brain because they resemble them in looks ..

I heard they are also good for either blood pressure /cholesterol too..in moderation..but don't know whether this is correct or not..anyway,whatever..my brain might appreciate them :o)

I shall have to eat more then for my high BP yes and my brain :o))

ot sure about the BP,Amy..but we might get to join MENSA ! Lol...

That 'll be the day , I would need sacks of them LOL

You would need a very large nutcracker for that one......we have a walnut tree, it is a pot at the moment, the last one grew quite large, so we are very undecided as to where to put it.....

Great pic Amy. I've recently been enjoying delicious walnut bread from the supermarket . . . didn't know it might be good for me!

Walnut trees are so pretty, Dotty; I've currently got a seedling which I'm hoping to bonsai.

We had a walnut tree in our garden Angela it was as big as the one you can see in this photo ,when we first moved here it was loaded with walnuts and for a few years afterwards but then it suddenly died we were never sure if it was honey fungus or if it was because it's roots weren't healthy it had been planted in a square of concrete where the previous people had a dog run .. we have a couple of small tree that have grown from walnuts buried by the squirrels I don't think they will ever grow very big in our life time ...
I love walnut bread Sheila , I make a walnut and date loaf it's very quick and easy to make it doesn't even need yeast if you would like the recipe let me know ...

That sure fooled the old eyes! LOL... and the museum is in the historically rich Dordogne! even pre-historically rich! would love to see the caves...did you manage that on your visit, Amy?
Will have to post a pic of our now bare walnut trees...and the bounty thereof!

Yes we did visit the caves Lori ,very interesting it seriously made us wonder how they could see to draw so well in such conditions in the dark , in some cases they had actually used the contours of the rocks and shadows to complete a figure , goes to show people are born with that talent ... I'm sure in todays society the artist would be famous , do you pickle any Walnuts ,I tried it once but they were too salty we couldn't eat them and I love pickled walnuts ......

That's a typically kind gesture, Amy, and yes please, I would love your walnut and date loaf recipe! x

And me please,Amy..I have made them from my trusty old Bero book,but it would be nice to try yours :o) x

Do you think it would be alright for me to put it on here ,I don't think anyone will object do you ?

I don't see why not Amy..it is garden related in a way..with the walnuts and dates:o)

Date and Walnut loaf

10 oz plain flour
2 oz cornflour
6 oz caster sugar
1 level teaspoon salt
2 oz walnuts - chopped
8 oz dates -chopped
2 tablespoons corn oil
1 egg
2 level teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1/2 pint of boiling water

Grease a 2lb loaf tin .. I always put greaseproof paper at least an inch above the tin .
Sieve the flour ,cornflour,sugar,and salt into a bowl.
Add the walnuts and dates .
Whisk together the corn oil and egg .
Add to the dry ingredients .
Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the boiling water.
and stir into dry ingredients .
Beat well to form a slack mixture( you might think it's to runny but its how it should be )
Turn into the tin .
cook in a moderate oven for one hour
Gas 4 --- 350'F ----180'C
If you poke it with a knitting needle and it comes out clean ,it's done ... ( I always keep a knitting needle in my draw for cooking LOL )

Good luck x

Now why did the 10 oz of plain flour come out of line with the rest of the ingredients ?

It's in line on my screen Amy ! :o)..thank you,that sounds good..I have a cable needle in my drawer too.:o)..much better than those very thin cake testers :o) .Might double up and make two..if they freeze ok ?

Mine never gets to the freezing stage Sandra try one first to see if it's o.k , if i'm not sure about how something will freeze I cut a slice freeze it and then take it out the next day if it's o.k then I make more ...

Thanks Amy..what a good idea to try one slice.I wouldn't have thought of that..just need to get some dates..and corn oil..something I've never used...

Sandra sometimes if I have some I cut up a few of those ready to eat apricots and include a few of those as well , you soon find out what works for you ..

last year I looked up the process for nutting and it is messy. the worst part is getting the hulls off of the nut. Then they must be boiled. (Will be going looking for alternate methods, soon.) Never tried pickling..that's interesting. got a recipe for that? lol... dates and walnuts are a very nourishing combo... think I will try your recipe it sounds delicious. will use sucralose instead of sugar.

Amy have lifted the recipe, sound very nice, all our family love pickled walnuts, no idea how to do it though.
Sheila that sounds interesting !! bosai walnut tree, you must show us some pics.....

I hope you like it Angela / Good luck with the Sucralose sugar Lori good luck with it , yes I do have a recipe for pickled walnuts if you would like it :o) you need a silver fork to prick them with I have a nice little one that I use for pricking sloes for Sloe Gin ...... I know there's a reason for it being silver but I can't remember what it is , maybe it's because it's sterile !

Many thanks for the recipe, Amy.
OK Dotty . . . pic of a walnut tree bonsai coming up - maybe in a couple of years time, lol :))

Your welcome Sheila :o)

Are they pickled in their shells like pistachios, Amy? Would love the recipe ..you can pm me if you think it's not quite garden related..I won't mind! Freezing nights and a bit of the wet has the black walnuts rinds and pulp coming off without a lot of work...pickled black walnuts..that sounds really good!

Will PM you with recipe Lori .........