I ordered an 8-quart stainless steel stock pot (with lid) today that Tony will pick up after work tomorrow. The fire pit is mostly dug out (though it could use some more finesse), and Tony will bring home rubber gloves, cheese cloth, and zip ties so we can get started processing walnuts.
Hopefully we can keep the walnuts away from the squirrels long enough to let them cure so we can eat them.
The husks are going to be used in three projects (potentially). I want to boil them and use their dye. Basic boiling will result in a nice dye that you can use on clothing or yarn or other craft projects. Boil it down a little more and you can use it as wood stain. Boil it down even more, and it becomes ink for calligraphy pens! All of which I can use on the homestead, or offer for sale to offset other expenses. I also hope to be able to dry some of the husks to sell to people wanting to do these projects themselves but that don't have access to black walnut trees. Perhaps any of these things would also make excellent bartering items.