All in a Nut Shell

Our neighbor has a very large walnut tree. Part of it hangs over our driveway. This year it had a bumper crop. Mary and I picked up a bowl full every day when we went to check our mail. She called them rocks! It was kind of like hunting for Easter eggs. Some were hidden in the leaves and sticks. She had a lot of fun. We ended up getting a huge sackful. It came out to 4 pounds of raw nuts. I have spent the last 3 weeks shelling a bowl full of nuts in the evening. Mary is fascinated by it and wants to help. Oh course she is too small to crack them, though she did try! I just let her scoop the shells into a big bag. She also would pull the unshelled nuts out and count them and put them in a big pile on the table. Calling it a rock tower:) Well I finally finished shelling all the nuts and have them in 2 big zip lock bags. I made sugared nuts out of them. I found this really good and easy recipe. I will post it after the pictures. Shelling these walnuts brings back memories for me. There were several walnuts trees near my childhood home. They were along the main road and were public domain. So my dad took us kids down there and had us climb up into the limbs and shake the nuts down onto a tarp. Then back at home we would help my dad crack them and mom would use the walnuts in all kinds of holiday treats! She really enjoyed getting those nuts!

Here is the recipe for sugared nuts:

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon water

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 pound raw nuts such as: pecans or walnuts

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Beat (with fork) egg white and water in large bowl. Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon in resealable bag. Shake. Place nuts in egg mixture. Drain back into bowl with slotted spoon. Shake in bag. spread out in foil-lined pan. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

If doubling, do one half at a time, but bake all at once.

Have a blessed day!