Yes, and some of us even understand what you're saying about us".

I have been thinking of Barbara a lot lately, and note that we met 41 years ago this month. [Here's the book she signed for me to give to Donald as a gift]. Sadly, we lost her 22 years ago, also in the autumn.

Front cover of Barbara Tropp's book, the Modern Art of Chinese Cooking, a few olive trees are in the background

Barbara Tropp's personalized inscription to Donald, November 1982. She signed her name in both English and Chinese.

Donald and I used to make her Fire Dried Walnuts (pp 105-106) quite often for guests, and have adapted it here to substitute Lucero Arbequina EVOO for corn or peanut oil and offer a variant using Tingly Sichuan Salt, a collaboration between Jacobsen Salt Company and Fly by Jing. Barbara suggests that this recipe works equally well with pecans, so we've prepared that recipe with the Arbequina substitute and Jacobsen's Pure Kosher Sea Salt.

I hope you enjoy this technique with its two recipe variations. Barbara attributes the original to her literary friend and mentor James Lo, as an example of a Hunanese "little dish" to start a meal. In her own words:

"These nuts have a beguiling texture and an irresistible gloss of caramelized salt and sugar that make them almost universal favorites. These are not the heavily candied walnuts one finds in Hunanese restaurants. Rather, they are refined, elegant sweetmeats, just perfect for greeting guests. You may soak and dry the nuts days in advance, but to serve them warm and freshly caramelized is the ultimate seduction."

half a pound of fire dried walnuts is in the foreground in a Chinese pedestal dish, a small round dish of pecans beyond it, and in the background, a bottle of sparkling wine and two filled glasses

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