Before Christmas I visited Timbercreek Lodge on Highway 202 just east of Redmond, WA...it's a tiny little Western-wear shop for most of the year but during the holidays it turns into the cutest little Christmas shop this side of the Mississippi. Along with all the trimmings, the shop carries a line of preserves, crackers, olives, etc., that just can't be beat. I wanted to tell you about them today because, well, you need to know these things! I purchased two items from the shop that changed my life...dramatically. As in I'll never be able to celebrate anything with Walnuts Preserves again! Say whaaaaa?
Notice my burn is healing nicely - I now have new skin! (Picture posted purely for sympathy...send it my way.) Harvest Song is a new-to-me-brand but I'm quickly becoming their biggest fan. They produce artisanal preserves that are directly imported from Armenia. Which reminds me, I probably should make up a batch of my mom's Armenian Meat Pies for our New Year's Day festivities, they will pair nicely with these walnuts...so good.
Green walnuts are carefully picked and then cured - whole - shell and all, in oil. You read that right, walnuts in the shell are put into oil where they soften and as they do they take on this incredible richness...you would swear there are all kinds of exotic spices in the oil - but there aren't - it's the walnuts themselves! When they are sliced, you can see the pretty inside - almost star-like - and they are yummy...think allspice/cloves/cinnamon...even though there isn't any of that in there - and then think surprise because these walnuts are nothing if not surprising! The owner at Timbercreek Lodge told me to serve them with cheese - so I did, in these cute little party cups:
Click here to find the Harvest Song Walnuts and here for the Party Cups - Amazon sells both and their prices on these two items are ridiculously cheap! I love the party cups because you can fill them with anything - lemon curd for a mini lemon pie, fresh fruit, chocolate ganache, chicken salad...really, they are so good and unlike some other party cups on the market, these have a pastry taste - not a cracker-y taste,that's a word, right?
Put some Gorgonzola crumbles in the party cups, top with a slice of preserved walnut and then drizzle on a half teaspoon or so of the walnut juice...magic! Your guests will think they're eating an olive, because that's kind of the texture the walnuts have but then their taste will surprise them and you'll be surprised as they move like locusts and devour the entire plate in minutes!
Just so you know, I received nothing for posting about Harvest Song or Party Cups...I just happen to love both of these products and I want you to love them, too!
