Weekend Re-cap

This weekend was quite productive for me. I was able to:

1) Can the walnut butter that I had made
2) Bake 2 loaves of bread
3) Make 4 quarts of chicken stock
4) Read, cover to cover, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.
5) Catch up on sleep.

On #4, I recommend that everyone go as soon as possible to the library or bookstore and pick up this book. The food that we eat is a subject that needs to be sorted out and I think this book goes a long way to clarify things.

Walnut Butter Jars

Walnut Butter Jars
Originally uploaded by monkeycat!.

Last week on Tuesday the Pomology Department, which shares Wickson Hall with the Viticulture and Enology Department, put out walnuts for people to take home. There must have been 50-100 lbs of walnuts. I took home a few bags worth, spent the next two days shelling them, and turned them into walnut butter. As you may note by looking below, there is not much to making nut butters.

After making the walnut butter, I put it in jars, made a label and a little tag, which more or less includes what is stated in the preceding paragraph.

Walnut Butter

walnuts, lightly toasted (7-10 min in a 250ºF oven)
walnut oil (or peanut, olive, etc.)
salt (optional)

Place walnuts in food processor. Blend until it forms a paste, and add a little bit of the oil to fix the consistency. Add salt if you desire.