And the saga continues!

Yesterday, I got a wild hair about using acorns to make flour. It seemed like a good idea at the time since there is a bumper crop of the little nuts just littering the yard. I figured that if the Native Americans could make tasty treats using this flour, then so could I! Free baking goods are always handy for someone who loves to bake and even more..loves to eat baked goods! I researched the method, gathered and shelled my acorns and then leached the bitterness from the nuts. This, in itself, was a long drawn out process and I must admit that several times during the shelling and leaching steps, I was nigh on quitting the entire project. I persevered, though, and managed to get the acorns in the dehydrator late last evening. Then I wearily laid down for what was to be a few minutes rest. I knew that I needed to check the acorns periodically so that they would not "burn" in the dehydrator. My dehydrator does not have an automatic timer and I have to manually unplug the machine when the desired dryness is reached. ....... I fell into a deep sleep! I did not check the acorns until 5AM....oops! Still, they were fine so all's well that ends well!

Today! Today became the finishing day for the flour! After the nuts cooled, I threw them into the blender as beating them to pieces with a rock like the Native Americans did long ago, seemed to be a mite too much work. These acorns already were about a 400 on the "difficulty scale" of 1 to 10! Way too much work! The "flour" turned out well but is rather coarse. This could be as a result of using the blender and not a grinder but since I like a "heavier" bread, I decided that the texture was fine. It is a beautiful golden brown ..comparable to the color of brown sugar! Back to the researching! Now, I needed a recipe! I found several for muffins but after reading a dozen or so, I just "winged" it and created my own! All the recipes called for half acorn flour and have all-purpose wheat flour...this I could do! To my muffins, I added diced apple, cranberries and honey! I wanted to keep with the "earthiness" of theme since I was using the acorns!

I must admit that throwing the muffins together was an easy task and while baking..they smelled divine! Upon tasting the delectable treats, both Son and I decided that a tad of sugar added to the recipe would have made the muffins tastier. I had not accounted for the slight bitterness of the acorn flour. Still..they were quite delicious with a nutty but grainy flavor. Question..Would I do this all again? Probably..just not on a constant basis. I am one that does get these crazy ideas now and again! So..yes..I probably will..much to the annoyance of those that I con into helping me! Once I tweak the recipe for the muffins, I will include it in the "Cooking on the Bayou" page as I am quite sure that any ground nuts could be substituted for the acorns.

~~Just a note..acorns like all nuts are good for you! They are full of nutrients and acorns have the added plus of being lower in fats than most nuts. There are studies being conducted on their ability to lower blood sugar levels, too! ~~