I went to the garden the other day and now the nuts are starting to come out in the yard! So we've moved from fruit to nuts. I have been wondering what these were all summer. The green pods are VERY prickly and you can't touch them without gloves. These are not ripe yet.
When they start to turn brown, the pop open and you can see the chestnuts inside. They then either fall to the ground with the nuts still in them or the nuts fall out and litter the ground. Either way someone has to come along and pick them up. 
This one fell to the ground and has two chestnuts waiting to be picked up. The tree is technically on the neighbors property but they offered me some on Saturday. I passed because I remember how bitter the chestnuts I had were. But later I looked up recipes online and decided I would go get a handful to try roasting in the oven.
This is a chestnut ready to be pricked and roasted. You have to cut an X in the brown part before you put them in the oven. This will let the steam release; otherwise, the chestnuts will explode in the oven. I don't hold out high hopes for this experiment but we'll see. There are two kinds of chestnuts in the yard: these edible ones and very large ones called horse chestnuts which are not edible for humans. The kids who own the yard have been using the horse chestnuts for "money." I'm on to them if they try to "sell" me anything. I don't want to use their currency! Of course I can find a bunch in a hurry since they are just falling on the ground.
