Black Walnut Extract

Black walnuts are hard to open, expensive, and they have a relatively short shelf life. When I bought a whole lot of black walnuts for an article I was working on a while back, I made a few recipes with the nuts, but then ... I was done.

I had eaten enough black-walnut-flavored baked goods, and I was ready to move on.

I could have frozen the rest of them, of course, but sometimes things that go into the freezer disappear. The big things, sure I know they're there. But a little bag of walnuts could vanish.

So ... I decided to make an extract.

Or it could be a liqueur. It's good for baking or for use in cocktails. Wherever you want to add that black walnut flavor..

Black Walnut Extract

2 cups chopped black walnuts
1/2 cup sugar
Vodka, as needed

Put the walnuts and sugar into a quart jar. Add vodka to fill the jar up to the neck. I used Smirnoff Honey because it's what I had and I figured the honey flavor would be compatible. A plain vodka would be jut as good.

Put the lid on the jar and shake until sugar is dissolved, Or, you know, shake it occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. You don't need to shake like crazy to get it all dissolved right away.

Stash the jar in your pantry or another out-of-the-way spot and let it sit for at least a month. Or more.

Strain the walnuts from the liquid. You can use the walnuts in baking, if you like, but keep in mind that they've absorbed quite a bit of alcohol and they're pretty potent.

Strain the liquid again through several layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter for a completely clear liquid. Transfer to a bottle or jar for storage.

Malted Milk Ice Cream

The weather here is still swinging wildly between nice and chilly, and my cooking has been keeping pace with the weather. The other day, I made soup from leftovers (no recipe for you there, sorry!) and a batch of ice cream.

This is a quick and easy recipe - no need for cooking anything. Just mix, refrigerate, and churn. And if you've got an ice cream maker with its own compressor, like the Breville ice cream maker that I have, you don't even need to chill the mixture.

If you have an ice cream maker with a bowl that needs to be frozen before churning, you'll get the best result if your ice cream base is cold before you start to churn.

Malted Milk Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 can chocolate sweetened condensed milk (this is sold seasonally - I stocked up - if you can't find it, use regular sweetened condensed milk and add chocolate syrup to taste.)
1/2 cup malted milk powder (the kind you mix with cold milk - not the one you need to heat)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Combine all of the ingredients, mix well, and chill until cold.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a storage container and freeze until firm.

Pickled Spicy Cauliflower

A local restaurant serves a small side of what they call pickled vegetables. They're mostly cauliflower, with a few bits of other things, and they're spicy.

I've become sort of addicted to them. Every time I go, I ask for extra.

I figured they'd be easy to make, but wasn't motivated to work on the recipe until I got some Chicken Salt through the blog group 37 Cooks. Upon doing a little sniff test of the different varieties, I decided that the Red Pepper Chicken Salt had enough of a kick to make my cauliflower spicy.

Because I like the color that turmeric adds to pickled vegetables, I added turmeric salt, as well. The first time I made it, I thought it was good, but not quite spicy enough. So I made it again, with more Red Pepper Salt. Now, it's perfect.

Since this is so simple to make, I decided to make just a small jar of it, but if you decide you love it, you can double or triple or quadruple the recipe.

These are quick pickles, so they stay nice and crisp. Since they're not preserved, you'll need to store them in the refrigerator.

Pickled Spicy Cauliflower

Cauliflower florets to fit pint jar
2 teaspoons red pepper Chicken Salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric Chicken Salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup water

Cut the cauliflower into bite-size pieces and fit as many as possible into a pint jar. Add the red pepper and the turmeric Chicken Salt.

Put the vinegar and water into a microwave-safe container. I used a glass measuring cup, so just one container for measuring and heating. You could also heat this on the stove in a pan. Heat to boiling.

Pour the hot water into the jar and screw the cover on firmly. Shake the jar to make sure the spices get nicely mixed in. Let the jar come to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.

This is done as soon as it's chilled, but it continues absorbing flavors as it sits.

I received products from Chicken Salt via 37 Cooks.