One of the nice things about this house is the gingko tree in the front yard. My brother, husband, and I picked up a couple of paper cups full of nuts. I’m not sure if squirrels like them, but there seemed to be lots of them jumping through the branches of all the trees in the yard. They aren’t really a commercial crop, so if you find some you will have to know how to prepare yourFresh Ginkgo Nuts. So, aside from the chawan mushi, I’ve just been eating them, fried in a bit of oil until they turn bright green, and sprinkled with salt. The skewer is so your fingers don’t get messy. LOL That’s today’s recipe.
New closing date: 19 November 2010
The gingko tree is hidden behind that big maple. Odd that as many times as I’ve been over there with my camera I’ve not taken a good picture of the tree!
One of the less desirable things in the house is the kitchen. It has potential, but the cupboards were solidly built in 1952. They are nicely painted, but inside, none of those nice slide out drawers so you can see what’s in the back, no lazy susan in the corner cupbords, the drawers a sticky because they slide wood on wood. Oh, and blue formica. Not what I’d have chosen. But it’s big, and there is even a pantry-closet in the hall.
Tess's Japanese Kitchen 
We have tons of Gingko trees in DC, I didn’t know you could eat the nuts that fall. Do you have to remove the fleshy fruit around the nut or do you just fry the whole thing?
Hi Luke,
Lucky you! I think they were used as street trees in quite a few cities, though in some cities, they plant only male trees so as not to have stinky “fruit” all over the sidewalks.
Yes, they are edible. The process of removing the squishy covering and removing the shells is described in my post here:
Fresh Ginkgo Nuts
I will add this link to the post.
It’s a charming looking house Tess. May you and Mr. Tess be very happy there.
The kitchen has good bones, and seems to have a fine layout for cooking. I’d give a lot for that amount of space. For sticky drawers, take the drawer out and rub the sliding parts with a cake of soap. Real soap like Ivory and not a “cleansing bar”. It usually works.
First time I’ve seen cooked gingko nuts. What a beautiful green they are.
Thanks for the good wishes.
Yes the kitchen has ‘good bones. And yes, the Ivory or candles or beeswax or even something with W-D 40 will make the drawers work better. That will certainly help.
The ‘good bones’ do go a long way for me to appreciate the kitchen.
I really must give up the memory of the kitchen in the other house: beautiful sparkling black granite counters, drawers with slide wheels that opened and closed at a touch, cabinet doors that closed themselves. sigh.
The realtor’s pic makes it look a bigger than it is in real life. But you are correct: good bones in the kitchen. And lots of cupboards and space.
hmm. I guess I did not try the gingko nuts un-cooked. All those warnings about rashes and poison-ivy-like problems…
Tess, your house looks so lovely. Hope that all your days are good ones there! I echo Marcia – so much kitchen space is mind boggling. Will you put a big table in there? I think I would. There’s something wonderful about sitting in the kitchen. It’s great that you’ve posted pictures of the house- we can be excited for you from here!
We rub candles on drawer runners – I hadn’t thought of soap – same thing really though.
Love that you have a house counter!!!
Love the green of those nuts. I thought they were edamame at first glance.
Oh Caroline! Thank you!
The kitchen looks bigger than it is in the realtor’s picture, though is is actually spacious. I’m not sure about a table in the kitchen. The dining room has such a nice bow window and pretty view. Really, why is it necessary to reserve that nice space for only ‘formal’ occasions?
The table in the kitchen could well be more of a cart: used to move groceries from the garage to the kitchen, dishes to set the dining table and remove to the dishwasher, and perhaps even to slice bread for toast at breakfast.
This house is both very like a standard early 50’s house, and quirky.
If we move in, I’m sure to be looking for advise. At this point, it is not yet ours and after the previous disappointment, I am trying not to make any plans.
Paffff/
As you see from the countdow webby thing, there is not much time left and everything is still +++.
You know, now that I think about it you might be right about a table in the kitchen especially for breakfast.
A smallish table. Remember, the pic makes the kitchen look bigger than it is. With a couple of chairs for the two of us. Of course in summer we can eat outside…
A table would be nice to make gyoza too!
I have never seen nor eaten gingko nuts. I wonder whether they have them over here…
Yes,your kitchen definately has potential,it has a nice size.
I would not think you will find gingko nuts in Israel; but what would I know about Israel! They were planted in many U.S. cities as street trees (there are some here in A2 on UM campus).
The nuts are not really a commercial crop, though I can sometimes find them canned (and very expensive). But trees are grown (sorry I forget where) for their leaves to make herbal extracts for diet supplements (herbal medicine in the U.S., not approved by FDA). Sorry, this might be how rumors on the internet grow—I read several (Googled) articles about this but dismissed the memory because the trees are trimmed to keep them short: only the leaves are used. And it might be they are all males which don’t produce the seeds. I was looking for information about the seeds so mostly concentrated on that. Sort of your normal internet surfing where you get off-topic by noticing ‘interesting’ information.
I know, the kitchen will be great, once we move in. It’s the color i don’t like—blue counters and food; LOL: blue is cold and food is warm.
But about the gingko nuts, I read somewhere that you could use edemame as a substitute…
Hey Tess,
Wow, don’t those gingkos bring back lovely memories! I also love your kitchen! Have you ever thought of decorating it in traditional Japanese blue and white? There’s a cloth that’s quite traditional called kasuri cloth. Here’s a Noren idea: http://www.etsy.com/listing/22178250/sale-japanese-sushi-house-noren-doorway, and here’s a link to traditional kasuri http://www.ichiroya.com/item/list/013/16/ . Zabuton cushions are often made out of kasuri. http://threads.srithreads.com/2010/03/31/a-stack-of-omi-jofu-zabutons/ Could be great cushions for that little table in the middle of that delightful kitchen! It’s gonna be great! I love the counter!
That is an interesting idea.
So are those links. Gotta stop browsing and get some work done!
I made some zabuton. Tan cotton, with a patchwork geometric design in the center of each. They would be nice in the living room in front of the huge front window.
I made a futon. Never again! My daughter slept on it for years! Which reminds me, at work we got some 3-fold mats covered with some kind of plant material. Maybe bamboo? I believe they are Japanese because 2 Chinese women were looking at them. They were interested and asked about them. I said we’d just gotten them and didn’t know what they were, meaning I didn’t know what price they were going to be. They said the mats were for sleeping on in summer. But these were different from Chinese summer mats. I’m buying 2 of them for guests to sleep on. Do you know what they are called?
Hey Tess, Are you thinking about tatami mats? They’re made out of bamboo. http://www.tatami.com.my/prod01.htm
I don’t know. I don’t think so. There was one sort of like pillow thing. A cylinder about 8 inches in diameter. Also covered with the plant material.
This is almost what they look like:
I go to work on Tuesday, but I might stop by and snap a pic.
Actually, they *are* a “commercial crop”. They are a very common household staple ingredient in Asian countries, and you can find them fresh, refrigerated, and frozen in Asian grocery markets in the U.S.