Off to get acorns

[Miss Bea]

We are heading out to pick tan oak acorns. It’s that time of the season. A basic food for Yurok people. We pick them, dry them, (for months, upstairs, by the stove pipe, going through our bedroom) crack them. (With a machine nut cracker) sort them out. (Get rid of bugs and mildew).  Then grind them. (With an old fashioned meat grinder) Then we have acorn flour. One more step before they are eatable , (tannins) They have to be leeched). In the old days, a creek or the river. Today, a sieve with a cheesecloth type material, and water is dripped on them for a few days. At the kitchen sink. We cook the flour like making a gravy, and, both my husband and I enjoy them cold. It gels. 
When my dear friend, who has since died, we made sure he had acorns. I told him they were for old Indians that were sick, and he qualified. He had the heart of a native person. And, Indians who are sick, are still gifted with acorns, ready to eat) 
He’s busy with his heavenly assignment, and, I still miss him so. You have no idea. He was like a dear childhood friend. 
Sorry, I degress easily.

‘Acorns have a very high food value. 
If we have lots of them, and canned smoked salmon, and, yes, good old dry beans, we are set, not just for us, but, “Company”. down the road. 
My husband, is, if nothing else, hospitable. And, I try to make sure he knows the different ones in our little congregation.

[Dustparticle]

Native Americans eat acorns. I haven't try it yet, in the future I will especially in the NW. I'm going to tell the squirrels to move over, I'm coming.

Edited October 20, 2023 by Dustparticle