The true meaning of windfall became apparent to me last week. I was working in the kitchen and kept hearing a pounding sound going on outside. Thinking it was someone working up the street, I didn’t pay much attention, until something hit the house a couple times. Time to investigate. It was a blustery day, one of those beautiful fall moments when yellow, orange, and an occasional red leaf swirled through the air. Stepping outside the door I realized what was happening. Dangerous territory! The big green globes were pelting the house and yard. Yes! The walnuts were all coming down with a vengeance. MMmmm…cookies!

Growing up in Walnut, Iowa might be a clue to what I was raised on. Walnut cookies, walnut cake, walnuts in every type of bar and candy. I love them. In the midwest black walnut trees dot the countryside. They are not everyone’s favorite. The toxin juglone that is produced by the tree is harmful to some surrounding plants. I have to plant my tomatoes or peppers in big tubs or they just don’t produce fruit. It’s the nightshade family that is most affected, I believe. Then there is the shade. Those trees grow to 75 feet tall with a 60 foot spread. And the leaves…dropping in the fall in a true yellow snowfall. Beautiful, but clogging up all the rain gutters in sight.

My mom always processed the nuts in the fall. I remember going with her to different trees she had spotted to pick up big bags of nuts. That’s the easy part. It’s like a big Easter Egg Hunt sometimes, when the nuts are not so prolific. Other years you can fill the bags and buckets in seconds. This year they are abundant. The most I’ve seen in our 20 years of living in this house.

Then you have to remove the husk, wash the nuts and lay them out to dry.

Curing for 3-4 weeks is the next step and then cracking and picking out the meat. It’s not a quick and easy process. Very few people spend the time. After an hour of working on one bucket of green nuts, which produced about a third of a bucket of black nuts…which will in the end produce about a half cup of nutmeats…is it worth it? To me it is. To be outside and revel in the beauty of autumn is one thing. Gathering the food we are given by nature is another. Reliving the traditions of my family is precious. And the first bite of these shortbread cookies will be the best!

And if you don’t live in walnut country, or want to put in the time, Hammons are the next best thing and always available on-line. They are hard to find in my local groceries, but will sometimes show up at Christmas baking time. Hammons has a great cracker and hard shell nuts available, if you want the experience and freshness of cracking your own. Just be warned…the treasure within is not easily attained!

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