As a kid, one of the best parts about coming up to Put for vacation was that you got to wear whatever you wanted. We were in and out of the water, in mud, in grass, running over rocks and sticks and yet these do-it-yourself outfits rarely included shoes. There was one thing our feet could not handle however - chestnuts. We didn't know what they were at the time, but the spiky little balls that fell out of chestnut trees were avoided at all costs because stepping on one mid-stride was the equivalent to getting about 50 splinters at once. My uncle
Scott and his wife Sandra came up this weekend to visit and, after hearing about all of the stuff we have been getting out of the garden, Scott asked if we had harvested chestnuts yet this year. I told him I had no idea what they were or where they grew so he told me to go get some gloves and we set out for the far side of the field. It turns out that inside their prickly husk, those spiky little balls were hiding chestnuts! The trick is
that you want to get them when they are ripe enough to fall off of the tree of their own accord, but before they have actually fallen because if they sit on the ground too long then squirrels, deer and other creatures will come along and eat the chestnuts before you can get to them. Apparently our timing was impeccable, as we walked over the wind picked up and the trees started raining chestnuts - Scott said that he could not remember ever getting such a good harvest. Once you have collected your fill of spiky balls you open up the husk to get at
the actual chestnuts. Just like any other type of nut, chestnuts have a hard shell that surrounds/protects the part you want to eat, before you can cook it you have to score this outer shell so that steam can escape from the nut as it cooks. It was too hot that afternoon to roast our chestnuts over an open fire ;) so we opted for boiling (like boiled peanuts), roasting them on the stovetop and baking some in the oven. When they are cooked the shell splits open along the scored lines so you can peel it right off - yum!
As a kid, one of the best parts about coming up to Put for vacation was that you got to wear whatever you wanted. We were in and out of the water, in mud, in grass, running over rocks and sticks and yet these do-it-yourself outfits rarely included shoes. There was one thing our feet could not handle however - chestnuts. We didn't know what they were at the time, but the spiky little balls that fell out of chestnut trees were avoided at all costs because stepping on one mid-stride was the equivalent to getting about 50 splinters at once. My uncle 
Scott and his wife Sandra came up this weekend to visit and, after hearing about all of the stuff we have been getting out of the garden, Scott asked if we had harvested chestnuts yet this year. I told him I had no idea what they were or where they grew so he told me to go get some gloves and we set out for the far side of the field. It turns out that inside their prickly husk, those spiky little balls were hiding chestnuts! The trick is 
that you want to get them when they are ripe enough to fall off of the tree of their own accord, but before they have actually fallen because if they sit on the ground too long then squirrels, deer and other creatures will come along and eat the chestnuts before you can get to them. Apparently our timing was impeccable, as we walked over the wind picked up and the trees started raining chestnuts - Scott said that he could not remember ever getting such a good harvest. Once you have collected your fill of spiky balls you open up the husk to get at 
the actual chestnuts. Just like any other type of nut, chestnuts have a hard shell that surrounds/protects the part you want to eat, before you can cook it you have to score this outer shell so that steam can escape from the nut as it cooks. It was too hot that afternoon to roast our chestnuts over an open fire ;) so we opted for boiling (like boiled peanuts), roasting them on the stovetop and baking some in the oven. When they are cooked the shell splits open along the scored lines so you can peel it right off - yum!
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