Walnuts

Walnuts, they are rich in omega-3s, full of protein and super tasty, not to mention extremely familiar to most palates, as they are grown in Europe, Asia and the Americas for both food, and wood.

On a recent visit to Galiano Island, I had a chance encounter with this lovely Walnut Tree, which just happened to be ready for the harvest.

This is the trunk, you can see holes drilled into it from the local Woodpeckers, trying to get at some bug inside the tree. Infestations are usually a sign that the plant is under stress, but this tree is old and fruiting, so I think it is only a minor concern.

These are the leaves.

Here is the fruit, bursting with a nut inside. I was amazed at how different Walnuts and Hazelnuts look like on the tree.

The grass was so long under the tree that it was tricky to see the nuts on the ground, so I had to "feel" them by gently treading over the area.

I got enough, and washed them up. I was warned to wash them with gloves on, because the preservative present in the fruit is strong and will dye your hands black for weeks.

I had to dry them next. This picture looks pretty, but remember, heat rises, so to be more effective, put the nuts you want to dry above the heat source.

After an hour and a half of shelling the walnuts (talk about slow food!) I had enough for my recipe, and I got so good a small miracle happened...

I extracted a walnut intact from its shell, not an easy thing to do.

As the nuts were still raw, and soft, I choose to put them in a raw recipe. My sistah Jill of illumination introduced me to Ani Phyo and the raw diet. I prefer raw foods in the warmer months, but this recipe of Ani's feels warm and fits fall very well.

Walnut Cranberry Squash "Rice"

1lb squash (I used a japanese Blue Kabocha that I grew in my garden)

1/2 small yellow onion

1tbs cumin seeds

1tbs coriander powder

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup walnuts, crushed

2tsp sea salt

Put small batches of squash into the food processor at a time, processing into small pieces.

Put processed squash into large bowl, add rest of ingredients and mix well. 

Enjoy!