We have a rather massive American Chestnut tree on our property. There are several trunks that make up the tree. It is covered with these prickly orbs. Inside are shiny dark brown nuts.
Only a few are on the ground now.. but soon it will be covered with them.
The tree is covered with nuts!
Every year it's like this. We've tried to roast and eat them but it didn't work out too well. Do you eat them and if so how do you prepare them? Sometimes people see the tree and come to our door and ask if they can pick some. :-)
Dayle took my phone out and snapped a photo of the base of the tree so you could see how many trunks are there.
I saw these trees on my way home from swimming on Wednesday.. so I snapped a shot of their yellow-ness.
Dayle bought some edging bricks and mulch and our yard work helper put the bricks in for us and Dayle sprinkled two bags of mulch in there.. it looks much neater now! This is our garden shed. I want to clear out the shed and decorate it but it keeps being put on the back burner. Some day! Years ago I used it as a craft workshop in there and had cute ruffle edged muslin curtains pulled back with ties and a valance and I want to do that again.
My October issue of the British Edition of Country Living just arrived. I look forward to diving into this over the weekend.
Dayle picked up some pork chops and made dinner for us and cooked up a pan of perfectly cooked fried Yukon Gold potatoes with a diced up onion to serve with the chops.
We love our pork chops coated with Shake n Bake and oven roasted.. the spices in it are delicious! And of course some corn with butter on top.
We're getting in a cooking mode with Fall here now. I envision meaty beef stews, roasts, soups and more. What is YOUR favorite Autumn meal to make at home? Do share.
No swimming today as Dayle is off to an appointment at the VA and our grandsons are arriving for a sleepover soon.. so I am staying home waiting for them. I've had a busy week of swimming and volunteering at the falls yesterday, so a restful day is in order. Do you have any fun weekend plans?
((hugs)), Teresa :-)
Mmm, that looks delicious, Dayle has made a lovely job of the potatoes. I wish I could get mine to look like that. The chestnut tree is magnificent. How lovely to have such a huge tree in your garden. I love that you have Country Living magazine, it's always beautiful. A restful day sounds lovely. I need to do a bit of work if possible, and maybe a bit of baking, then some watching of sport, probably in the rain if the forecast is correct. Oh, and some dog walking, the dog is getting a little weighty, so some more exercise is in order. Hope you have a lovely weekend. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteYour American Chestnut tree is lovely, Teresa. The American Chestnut tree in Virginia suffered a blight so there are very few of them here. I too love the British Country Living magazine. Such a good one! We don't have plans this weekend. It's supposed to be quite warm. I'm hoping for cooler temperatures soon.
ReplyDeleteSteve is working detail at the firehouse Saturday and Sunday so we had our *fun* day today. We went out to Lancaster Central Market (an indoor farmer's market) and hit up one of the local yarn shops (not a winner, but fun none-the-less).
ReplyDeleteOur favorite fall meal is probably roast chicken with stuffing.
Ooh, those potatoes and the pork chops look delicious. One of our families favorite fall/winter meals are homemade chicken and noodles. I make the noodles from scratch and boil the chicken, etc. It IS delicious and I look forward to it soon.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many chestnuts on your tree! It's amazing but I have no idea how to cook them at all.
We're leaving Mandy's a day early due to a major "historic" snowfall predicted in Montana bginning tomorrow. We have to take a different route home which will add about 10 hours or so of driving. It's very disappointing because Piper's birthday party is tomorrow and we're going to miss it. However, we did help with the craft shopping and decorating the house tonight. We'll leave early in the morning and head out across Nebraska and part of Wyoming tomorrow, up through Utah into Idaho on Sunday and into Oregon and home on Monday. Dennis HAS to be at work on Tuesday and we also have our physicals on Wednesday and I have a cardiologist visit on Thursday. A busy week once we get home.
Anyway, we're heading out tomorrow for another epic journey on roads I haven't been on in over 30 years! Talk to you soon!
Blessings,
Betsy
I've never seen a chestnut tree and didn't realise they had those funky little spikes encasing the nut. I've added that to my 'new thing to learn today' list. Those potatoes look delicious! xx Susan
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing tree I am a great fan of chestnuts and love to get them off the street vendors we have at Winter events. They need to be soaked in water for about 15/20 mins to soften their tough skin and then score a cross on them, pop them in the oven for about 30 mins or until the skins are starting to curl. Peel them and enjoy them warm. Hope that helps.
ReplyDeleteYour dinner looks delicious. How lovely that Dayle cooks. Yes we have sweet chestnut trees here too and they are abundant with nuts. Ours are not very sweet to eat. Normally the ones we buy to eat are from Italy. Much sweeter. Have a lovely weekend. Very windy here today. B x
ReplyDeleteIt looks beautifully autumnal over at your Teresa. These are the sweet chestnut trees...our conker treasure hunt planned today are the fruits of the horse chestnut which is one of our native trees here. We also have the sweet chestnut and my Mum gathers nuts every year to roast. The conkers are not edible though! The weather looks OK today so fingers crossed we will be taking Daisy and Jack. Have a lovely weekend xxx
ReplyDeleteIF that shed was on my property it would be mine! I would love a little place to call my own. Hope you had a wonderful overnight with the boys.
ReplyDeleteWe call them Spanish or sweet chestnuts here. When our children were young, we lived near a wood with lots of these trees. When DB's uncle visited we would all go chestnutting then come back and roast them over the open fire. With butter and salt - delicious. Also I cooked them with sprouts and also made nut roasts. I love your shed and your dinner looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteThe chestnuts and the tree are so interesting. I've never seen one. Favorite autumn meal would be a pot of chili, sliced apples and cheese, and an old family recipe for hard rolls. I also like a big pan of roasted root vegetables over rice or quinoa.
ReplyDeleteBack in NY I tried to roast chestnuts once and was not a fan of my efforts, but I certainly admire your photos of your tree! I hope you got to enjoy your BCL today! Lis and I met friends at OFFF at Canby today, which we all enjoyed. I attended a monthly art group this afternoon and tomorrow have three gatherings lined up to attend...unusually busy for me! ((hugs)) :-)
ReplyDeleteI miss my potatoes lol That chesnut tree is huge.....not a fan of eating them lol Today resting with sore hip joint....back to city Thursday 😀😀
ReplyDeleteI see a SHE SHED! Those potatoes look picture perfect
ReplyDeleteThe weekend was good one day and dreary gloomy on Sunday. Today the heat is back and I'm thrilled. The sun is back as well. Fall meals: acorn squash halved, scooped and sprinkled with brown sugar and butter!
Isn't it funny how when fall comes around we start to cook more "comfort food"? We eat more casseroles and meat, potato and vegetable meals when the weather is cooler.
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