Wandering the lanes looking for cob nuts....

I've been wandering the country lanes collecting cob nuts for the last month or so, they were green and soft at first and lovely eaten fresh but now they're maturing  nicely on the kitchen windowsill  and ready to be crushed for a crumble or ground finely for an autumnal fruity meringue or cake mixture.  It isn't an easy job to shell them but who could complain while sitting in the garden in the afternoon sunshine ? I'm hoping to have enough for a salad too with mild leaves, pear, blue cheese and a drizzle of hazelnut oil. 

Apart from this one; local folklore tells us it's good luck to carry a double cob nut in your pocket (or a potato, but that doesn't seem such a good idea!) so this one will be hidden away in my walking coat pocket to keep me safe over winter.