A simple, happy Saturday

[tzikeh]

My friend J's dad has a second home in Michgan, with a decent-sized apple orchard. Yesterday, some friends and I drove over for the annual apple-picking party. This is the first year I've gotten to go, and I am so, so glad I did. A variety of friends and relations gather in this lovely house for appetizers, small main course, and then large buffet spread (put out in two-hour intervals). And, of course, for picking apples.

I wandered with a group of friends through knee-high grasses and wildflowers. Everybody picked from random trees, took bites, and called the others over if their particular tree was "a winner". We'd just toss the mealy and tasteless apples on the ground and move on to another tree. So many of the trees had plenty of low-hanging branches just overloaded with fruit that it was easy to fill up a bag without even thinking about it. And yet I *climbed* a tree. Just for fun. I can't remember the last time I climbed a tree! I picked apples I wouldn't have been able to reach from the ground just because I could because dude, I climbed a tree! I also fell out of the tree flat on my back into the wildflowers and the grass and got pummeled by the apples that were shaken from the tree when I fell, and just lay there and laughed and laughed. We saw several patches of HUGE wild mushrooms, and we saw a snake! I wanted to pick it up but I was prevented by wussies who were concerned that it was poisonous and it would bite me and I would die. I'm pretty sure it was a non-poisonous gopher snake, but warier heads prevailed.

Still - Mushrooms! Snake! I demanded twelve badgers doing knee-bends, but alas.

The weather was gorgeous, the food was amazing, and the conversation was wonderful. When we left, each of us got a big caramel apple for the ride home.

I now have far more apples than shrift and I can possibly eat before they rot. I've given some to NeighborKim, and I expect we (and by 'we' I mean 'shrift') will find things to bake them into.

OMG I climbed a tree and fell out of it and have too many apples and saw a snake. Best Saturday for someone in her late-thirties EVER.

***

In completely unrelated news:

Blackadder Cake.

Smaug Cake.

Farscape DRD Wedding Cake.

Discworld Wedding Cake (made by the pastry chef for her daughter's wedding).

Comments

[umbo.livejournal.com]

What an awesome day! Glad you managed to fall out of the tree without actually hurting yourself, too--that's a useful talent! :-)

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

It was such an awesome day. I'd forgotten you could have days like that. Isn't that a shame.

[carleton97.livejournal.com]

I LOVE apple season!

I love the U of MN and their crazy fruit program because I just ate a Honeycrisp that was AS BIG AS MY HEAD.

As long as they're not bruised and if they're kept in a cool, dark place, apples *should* keep for up to a month, I think.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

apples *should* keep for up to a month

Wow, really? Thanks for the tip!

[carleton97.livejournal.com]

Here are some general guidelines:

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/ext/HO-95.pdf#search=%22storing%20fruit%20apples%22

[dcjensen.livejournal.com]

I'm looking forward to finding the Zestar (http://www.apples.umn.edu/orchards/Zestar.html) apple somewhere.

[carleton97.livejournal.com]

It's a little too late for the Zestar this season. It's an early summer version of the Honeycrisp and usually peaks in July/August, I think.

I had the Zestar last year and it was truly delicious.

[dcjensen.livejournal.com]

Technically a whole other strain than the honeycrisp, but by all accounts wonderful.

I hope to try one next season. Maybe buy a tree to plant in my yard.

[carleton97.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I just meant in flavor and texture, similar to the Honeycrisp.

Yes, next year you should try to get a hold of one. I'm trying to remember if I've ever seen them in stores, though. I got mine from an orchard.

[dcjensen.livejournal.com]

I live in Minnesota, in orchard country. The only reason I don' t have a Zestar now is that I hadn't heard of one until three weeks ago and that was when they mentioned the orchards around the state are starting to report being sold out.

Well, that and my apple intake has lessened drastically now that I have diabetes.

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

Thank you for allowing me to vicariously enjoy falling out of a tree. It sounds wonderful.

I had a good day today. It involved taking George to the dog park and snuggling with Yorkies.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Awww doggies. Oh I forgot - *everyone* brought their dogs. There were dogs of all shapes and sizes. Again, feeling stupid that I didn't have a camera.

[jackiekjono.livejournal.com]

Nah, you don't want a camera for stuff like that. You end up sitting behind the thing trying to capture what a good time you are having then forget to have the good time. You're better off without one.

[dragovianknight.livejournal.com]

Snake! That is so cool!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I know! A snake! It was all coiled up, and then it started to slither away, and then it was all coiled up again... and then we lost it under some big tree roots or something. I really wanted to pick it up.

[bkwyrm.livejournal.com]

I'm going to visit and eat all your apples!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

That would be okay by me! Email me and we'll figure out a day. :)

[kirbyfest.livejournal.com]

What a great day. Fall in Michigan is magic.

Do you guys have a crock pot? You can make apple/pear sauce with it soooo easily (and it's really healthy).

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

According to shrift, we do *not* have a crock-pot; we have a "slow-cooker". To a kitchen-illiterate such as myself, I would have assumed these were the same things. Can you make this magical sauce in a slow-cooker?

[kirbyfest.livejournal.com]

They're the same thing. :)

You might want to go look up a formal recipe. My "recipe" consists of peeling and cutting up 2 or 3 pears and then as many apples as will fit in the cooker. Cut the fruit up in different sizes, some big chunks and some small, unless you like smooth sauce. I like it a little chunky.

I then dump in cinnamon, just a touch of nutmeg, and honey. As I do this all on sight, I am not very helpful on quantities. :) I'd guess at least 1/4 cup of honey to start? Start conservative and you can add over the course of the day.

The nice thing is you do all this in the morning, cook it all day, and that night yo have gorgeous applepearsauce. Keeps well and freezes too.

Apples

[taverymate.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a fantastic day! It makes me miss Michigan in the fall something fierce. One year we picked so many apples that I pushed my trusty 101 Apple Recipes cookbook to the limit with butters, chutneys, relishes, cakes, cookies, and pies. *g*

Re: Apples

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

omg - could you email me (or post here) some recipes? We could really use them - especially butters chutneys and pies...

Re: Apples

[taverymate.livejournal.com]

If you can wait until Tuesday, I'll be happy to do so. I've got a project to finish by Tuesday, so I won't be able to get to my cookbooks until that evening.

The great thing about butter and chutneys is that they are easy to make in large quantities and keep quite well - especially if you can them. But if you don't want to can, they freeze well. And with pies, you can buy ready made crusts and save some time if you don't want to make your own crust (which is always preferred, of course).

Re: Apples

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Perfectly happy to wait for recipes. Any time!

[misspamela.livejournal.com]

Yay! That sounds like a perfectly lovely day!

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

It really, really was.

[anoel.livejournal.com]

Ooh apple picking. I haven't done that since I was like five but I do have pictures of it. I loove climbing trees although sadly I haven't done it in awhile. Too bad about the snake, I'm sure it was fine (Snakes in a plane! Snakes in a vid! ;)). It sounds like a wonderful day though, sometimes you just have to do things considered child's activities, just for the fun of it.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

sometimes you just have to do things considered child's activities, just for the fun of it

Yeah, I'd forgotten that. For quite some time. I think I've been reminded now, and though I might look silly, I may be skipping around campus or turning cartwheels. If I can even do that anymore; the body weight has kind of... shifted. ;)