Limpiando nueces, una tarde junto al nogal [ESP-ENG] One afternoon by the walnut tree

Good morning friends of Hive Argentina! How are you this Tuesday? Frozen, aren't you? This winter is so weird, well, today I bring you an activity of an afternoon in these days where appreciating a little bit of sun became pleasant, with an activity that I only do a few times in the year, it is a little tiring, and sometimes boring, but I make it fun with a little music. I will tell you more in the next few lines

I don't know if I have ever said it, but at my parents' house, where I have grown up and lived most of my life, there is a walnut tree. I learned from a very young age about some trees, especially the ones I had nearby, and whose fruits were within my reach. Walnut, lemon, avocado, among others. The walnut tree specifically is in the yard, it came with the house, who knows how many years this beastly tree has been here. We spend very long periods of time pruning, collecting fruit, and cleaning, because it is a tree that gets dirty many times a year. The leaves it drops in the winter, the plume that stains the ground black in the spring, and the fruit when the cold weather arrives.

Well, that's how my parents (who were getting older, of course) no longer have patience for this, and I go day by day, collecting the nuts, cleaning the first shell, letting them dry and placing them in boxes, where I keep them with the title of “harvest 2023” or “harvest 2024” Let's face it, although they do not eat so many nuts at home, we have a fruit that is somewhat expensive, totally free. Despite the fact that I do eat walnuts, I generally need them when I make brownies or some cooking recipe where I think they will turn out well, for that I go and crack open about 10 walnuts and that's it. Recipe finished, and not much to clean up.

Since it is a somewhat messy task, I decided to do it in the yard directly, plus they are literally wooden shells with a fruit inside, so half of them, or more, are full of bugs, spiders, little worms, in short, anyone who wants to feed on this fruit, is welcome in the backyard. That's why I prefer to do it outside. Besides, even with all the care in the world, a little piece of peel flies or a little worm falls, and it is no longer pleasant to do it in the same place where we cook.

I took advantage of this sunny afternoon and started by placing a cushion on the floor, a dirty tablecloth, and my box on one side. I also took with me a container to put the good nuts in and a big bag to put the garbage in. I justify being here for several hours knowing that I will fill the garbage bag, otherwise it is just as uncomfortable, throwing this in the kitchen garbage can does not justify knowing that there are many bugs there and that it is not an acceptable degradable material for my compost. Anyway, I proceed.

It gets tiring, yes. The force to be done with one hand, to go cleaning one by one the fruits, some have very dark peels and are delicious, others have a lovely brownish peel and taste a bit bit bitter. It is a difficult luck to decipher.

This afternoon I was fascinated and kept going until I couldn't go any longer, and since I had to leave I just cleaned up and finished everything. But I would have kept going until I finished the whole box. I'm sad that they are not eaten just because they have shells, because the tupper was super full and they were eaten steadily. Besides, it is a good excuse to give a touch of natural and nutritious food to the body and recipes. I also gave away some of these ready to eat. I usually feel sorry for giving away nuts in the shell because seriously many of them are pure bugs and are nothing more than garbage. Imagine giving you a gift of these and you get home to find that only a few of them are good and others are waste. Well, I avoid it by making the afternoon of production.

As soon as my mother arrived we burst into laughter “you were in nut production” she said, to which I replied “the tree does that job, I just cleaned them for consumption” but indeed the best part is when my father heats up the copper bowl and makes nut brittle. Now we have to enjoy some time and then try to finish with all the production, to make way for the next production.

I hope you liked this story of a cold winter afternoon where I had a lot of fun. And I hope that the next time we hivers from Argentina get together I can bring some nuts for you to try! I love you all and I send you a big hug!