Black Walnuts!

By Lindsey Riley (the crafting-challenged blogger)

Hello everyone and again, happy Friday!

I'm sure that you are going to make your way outside during the weekend. If you live in the Ozarks, you may literally stumble on one of those green golf ball sized things that fall out of the trees this time of the year. I got a phone call the other day that my grandmother stumbled on one and hurt her ankle. It was then that I began to wonder exactly what they were. Upon researching them, I came across a couple of options: Crab Apples or Black Walnuts. There are no apple trees around my grandma, so I am going to guess that the green ball is a black walnut.

As I further researched black walnuts, I found some interesting news on them: There's a shortage this year because of the drought that struck across the United States. The amount walnuts, which the Ozark residents refer to as black gold, and the impact of the drought will not be known until companies begin cracking the nuts.

So what can you do with black walnuts? Well, we can eat them and use them for crafts. Their shells are great for artistic purposes. What we are going to do is cook, because I have no shells to play with.

I decided to make black walnut fudge. I used a good fudge recipe from my grandma and added the walnuts in before letting it sit. Here's the recipe:
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WHAT YOU NEED 

2 sticks of butter
4.5 cups of sugar
1 cup of regular milk
25 regular marshmallows
12 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips
2 squares of bakers unsweetened chocolate
13oz of Hershey milk chocolate bars
1.5 tsp of vanilla
1 cup of chopped black walnuts 

NOW WHAT

In a stove-safe pan, melt the butter and add sugar and milk…stir until warm. Add marshmallows. Bring the mixture to a boil…constant stirring….once at boil shut off fire. Add all of the chocolate. Stir until melted and add vanilla. Pour in 13x9x2 pan that is greased with butter and scatter the nuts on top…let cool

Lindsey: The Crafting-Challenged Blogger

 (By Lindsey Riley)

Hello everyone! My name is Lindsey Riley and I am not the most craftiest person you will ever meet. I am better at creating with words than I am with textiles, ingredients, and all that jazz. I am, however, open to giving things a chance.

My goal with this blog is to keep you up-to-date with the latest and coolest craft ideas while sharing something new and news-worthy with you. It sounds like a challenge, but it's a challenge that I am willing to face. I don't think it will be that bad because I am fortunate enough to have Britny and Mallory to work with me on this blog.

Some ideas I have right now to share with you include recipes for my grandmother's holiday fudge and my mom's amazing pumpkin bread. As far as crafts go, I know we will be making a t-shirt scarf for sure, and I think we'll be making some cool inexpensive things to give as gifts at Christmas. Let's face it: the holidays are about three-ish months away. No time like the present to get started on presents! :D

Be sure to follow me on Pintrest. I plan on making various pin boards as they relate to what I blog about and what Mallory and Britny blog about, as well.