Black Walnut Trees

Across the valley by the garden spring are several Black Walnut trees, in fact, there are many spread over the farm.  Picking up walnuts to sell was one of our childhood chances to make some money. Each year some one will have a walnut huller operating and will pay by the pound for Black Walnuts after they are hulled.

This is a Black Walnut by our house showing many walnuts still on the trees.  I left the corner of the roof so you can imagine how big the trees are.  This is one of the smaller trees.

These have fallen and are ready to pick up.

The way they look when they fall

and the color they turn

One without the hull but still in the shell.

First you remove the hull

then break it open with a rock or hammer

...they are a tough nut to crack...

and you get the wonderful "meat" or "goodies" to eat.

This is about half of a walnut's worth.  They can be used as any other nuts in cooking, baking, or just like this.  The hulls in water when changing from green to brown will make a wonderful "tea" to dye cloth with not to drink.  We also discovered a good strong tea will kill thistles.

Black Walnut wood is highly prized for furniture making and for gun stocks.  The living room here At The Farm is Black Walnut tongue and groove routed lumber varying in widths with almost an inch thickness. The shelves on each side of fire place and through out the house are made from Black Walnut.  All walnut in the farm house was harvested here, seasoned, milled, planed and routed for use in building this house.  It will never be painted nor removed.

Thanks to Lynne at Irish Garden House for suggesting this post.

Got Bread!

Remember the post where I made Justin Wilson's bread?  I inquired about what kind of bread machine to use.  I discovered that most made theirs by hand like me.   

I have "met" many wonderful people since I began blogging and I knew there would be someone with the answer.  Lynne from Irish Garden House  went way above and beyond with her help.  She sent me a bread machine!

I was so thrilled to receive this wonderful gift.  I read and read and discovered every recipe called for dry milk.  I didn't have any at the moment so I worked on getting a table ready because the instructions said Do not operate on flammable surface.  Here is my knocked together unit that will hold the meat grinder and my bread machine while providing extra work space.  The top is an old enamel piece from a destroyed, not by me, Hoosier cabinet.  The bottom has rollers so I can move it anywhere.

My sweet sister Marcy shows up with a bread recipe mix!  I was so involved in the instructions, when it said a entire envelope of yeast, I got my own and found the one included later.  It will not waste.

As much as I love the art of bread making it was so nice to place ingredients in here and go about my rat killing without waiting on any thing.  I remembered to take pictures when SOMEONE reminded me.  I was two seconds from done.

Beautiful!  I think it touched the top because I used my yeast instead of the one they had in the packet but that didn't hurt one thing.

Here's the bucket,

Here's the loaf, perfect!

I slathered it with butter and set it to cool.

Didn't make it to cool. That is why it's a little crooked. Sliced it early, shared with Marcy since she brought the mix.  Jake, Andrew and Hubby came through sniffing the air like a coon dog looking for game.  It's gone before it cooled.

Thank you, Lynne.  The old saying "...and the whole da** family thanks you" is very true!  You have made me a very happy cook.

Oh, I will still knead that dough time to time just for the pure joy of it but for now I can bake homemade bread while I'm taking a nap...right!