Acorn Meal

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 lb acorn
• water

Recipe

• 1 to shell: acorns are best shelled with a nutcracker or a pair of pliers. simply grip each nut the long way and pinch, then grip it the short way and pinch. presto! out pops the clean, kernel.
• 2 to grind: put a cup of shelled acorns in a blender, fill the blender's container up with water and whiz away at high speed for a minute or two.
• 3 to leach: pour the acorn pulp into a dish towel lined colander.
• 4 place the colander under slow running water and work the pulp around with your hand for about five minutes.
• 5 the water now runs clear.
• 6 taste the meal.
• 7 if bitter, continue rinsing.
• 8 the meal should taste rather bland.
• 9 press out the excess liquid and store in the refrigerator or freeze until ready to use.
• 10 to dry: spread the damp meal out in a shallow layer on a cookie sheet or on sheets of your dehydrator.
• 11 then begin to dry it.
• 12 in the oven, you only need the pilot light or the very lowest oven setting.
• 13 as it begins to dry, take your hands and very carefully crumble any chunks which hold moisture.
• 14 slowly your meal will begin to look quite good.
• 15 you can run it through a grain mill for finer meal.
• 16 to use: the possibilities are endless!
• 17 add acorn meal to mush, stew, or soup.
• 18 use it in turkey dressing.
• 19 substitute acorn meal for corn meal or use it to replace part of the flour called for by your favorite bread, cake or cookie recipe.
• 20 if you do substitute, cut down a bit on the usual amount of liquid and shortening, as the acorn meal is high in both vegetable oil and water (unless you chose to dry it).