[Magdalen] Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.

[Sally Davies]

I like roast chestnuts but would not recommend repeating my first attempt
at making them after moving to England...in the microwave.

Microwaves were a new thing then but exploding chestnuts weren't their best
offering.

Those are the sweet chestnuts that come in large prickly cases, most of
which are torn apart by squirrels. We gathered up the crumbs under their
table, thats for sure. They were soft, sweet and delicious, but there again
I am a fan of all tree nuts (so far).

I miss collecting wild food, something we did often in England -
blackberries, elderberries, rose hips for wines and syrups, hazelnuts and
chestnuts...

The other chestnuts I know from there are the ones kids use to make
"conkers", pretty but completely inedible even by horses though they are
called "horse chestnuts". I brought one back in my pocket but it didn't
grow, it probably didn't like South Africa.

Sally D

On Tuesday, 29 November 2016, Lynn Ronkainen <houstonklr at gmail.com> wrote:

> sweet potatoes are great mashed with butter and an appropriate portion of
> undiluted frozen orange juice...
>
> Lynn
>
> website: www.ichthysdesigns.com
>
> When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I have not
> a single bit of talent left and could say, "I used everything You gave me."
> attributed to Erma Bombeck
> "Either Freedom for all or stop talking about Freedom at all" from a talk
> by Richard Rohr
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "James Oppenheimer-Crawford" <oppenheimerjw at gmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2016 2:38 PM
> To: "Magdalen at herberthouse.org" <magdalen at herberthouse.org>
> Subject: Re: [Magdalen] Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.
>
> I do not care for sweet potatoes unless they are swimming in a wonderful
>> syrup of brown sugar -- and I'm being literal about the swimming bit.
>> Others love sweet potatoes as is and hate the preparation I enjoy.  Off
>> with their head, I say. Let's hear it for tolerance.  Yes, tolerate what I
>> like or else.
>>
>> [Had no idea there's an E at (well, very near) the end of potatoes. Maybe
>> I'll remember -- or maybe I'll remember it again -- uh, what was all that
>> again? Sweet potatoes? Did I mention that I prefer mine with lots of ...?]
>>
>> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
>> *“A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved,
>> except in memory. LLAP**”  -- *Leonard Nimoy
>>
>> On Tue, Nov 29, 2016 at 1:56 PM, Grace Cangialosi <gracecan at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> And I LOVE roasted chestnuts!  Different strokes and all that...
>>>
>>> > On Nov 29, 2016, at 1:22 PM, Cantor03--- via Magdalen <
>>> magdalen at herberthouse.org> wrote:
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On a trip to New York City in the mid-1950's I stopped at what was
>>> > then ubiquitous along the streets of Midtown Manhattan:  Vendors >
>>> selling
>>> > roasted chestnuts.  I don't recall seeing these vendors in recent >
>>> years.
>>> >
>>> > I couldn't stand the roasted chestnuts (presumably imported from >
>>> Europe
>>> > since all American Chestnuts were dead of Chestnut Blight by then).
>>> > The taste was like I would imagine ground oak acorns to be.
>>> >
>>> > My spouse bought some roasted chestnuts recently, and my memories
>>> > were confirmed.  IMHO they are awful.
>>> >
>>> > Somebody must have thought chestnuts were tasty, hence the Christmas
>>> > song,  I'm all for the restoration of the American Chestnut, but I
>>> suspect
>>> > the taste of those nuts is pretty much the same.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > David S.
>>>
>>>