Preparing for Winter V

Si_Clist

Nonna, all we do is make two cuts in the base of the chestnut like a cross, and we do that with a Stanley knife on the chopping board rather than a kitchen knife 'cos we reckon that's safer.  We then pop them in some water in a pan, bring it to the boil, and simmer for 8 minutes if they're relatively small or a bit thin, 10 minutes if they're good and plump.  Fish them out with a slotted spoon, and the outer case just pulls off.  We don't normally bother taking the skins off, but they seem to come off easily enough if you do this while they're still hot from the pan.  Hope that helps!

Nonnadiluca

That's great, thanks, Will try that tomorrow!

pavlovs_dog

cornishchick said:

pavlovs_dog said:

cornishchick said:

just made a delicious soup using frozen leaks, milk powder, stock cubes and instant mash, it is delicious and so easy to make,  might add some cheese to the leftover portion. I am experimenting with my stocks and seeing what I can make simplely with little effort for the cold and no spoons days ., 

wouldn't mind a recipe as we have al of those ingredients in stock

I wouldn't call it a recipe as such but, 
 chicken stock cube and a pint of water, hand full of frozen leaks, 2 teaspoons of milk powder and a shake of garlic powder, brought to the boil, until leaks are cooked, sprinkle in instant mash stir, see if it's thick enough, if not add a little more, salt and pepper to taste,  it was so good, I figured when I make it with whole potatoes I mashed them anyway so this cut out a step or two and saved me some energy. 
 hope you enjoy it, 

thanks for taking the time to share cornishchick, I'd never have thought to use milk powder or powdered mash in a soup

maryb

How can you tell the difference between horse chestnuts which contain some sort of toxin, and the sweet chestnuts which you can eat?

Laura_Elsewhere

@maryb the sweet chestnuts form in threes, packed together inside their very bristly-spiky casing, and so they always have one flat side, where it's up against the others. Conkers only have a vaguely-flattish base which is a browny-grey contrasting with the shiny conker-brown rest of it.

I always think of the edible ones being more difficult to get at - NEVER use your fingers to try and open sweet chestnut casings or you'll be in pain for days! Use your foot to scrape them along the ground til they split open - usually two tiny and one fat nut, if you're lucky. 

Conkers, otoh, have a casing with pathetic pretend-spikes that couldn't hurt a fly, just vestigial ex-spikes. 

So it's easy to get at the poisonous ones, but Mother Nature has protected the delicious sweet chestnuts with squirrel-proof casings of many sharp bristling spikes!

Si_Clist

Also https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/a-z-of-british-trees/sweet-chestnut/

maryb

Thanks both, sorry not to respond sooner, life has been hectic.  That's really useful info

CatieE

I am Swiss and so used to cold winters. We tend to cope by wearing multiple layers. Even the men are known to wear tights under their trousers

3secondmemory

I ordered a box of 10 frozen Cornish pasties to fill the gaps in my freezer. I taste tested one last nightIt makes a tasty wholesome meal but not like home-made

shoei

So, our boiler has truly died and to make matters worse our old oil tank is full of crud to so that needs replacing along with the boiler. Looks like the utility is having an overhaul whilst we are at it and we are adding a radiator to our wet room which inly had underfloor heating which isn't efficient or warm enough! What a day!!!