September 27, 2009

apples!

Inspired by my new blog header, (which I'll say, might be my favorite yet...) and a fellow Facebrook friend posted about her apple picking adventures, I hopped on pickyourown.org and found Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park, just 20 minutes away. The crystal clear skies and gorgeous, crisp weather just BEGGED us to go apple picking. This was new for me-- I'm a veteran blueberry picker, but I'm a newbie with apples-- and here's the difference-- it takes only 20 minutes TOPS! We got a quarter peck for free (well...) with our entry fee, and we bought an additional peck on top of that ($10, 10lbs). Today, we could pick from Jonathons, Goldon Delicious, Cortland, and Empires.

You can eat as many as you can for free!


Also, apparently we weren't the only ones who thought today was perfect... And ps, I guess I didn't realize that apple orchards in the fall are HOPPING with young families toting toddlers for photo opps. It's almost like an outdoor Olan Mills or something. In front of trees, holding apples, sitting on hay... Wow.

Look at those varieties! Let's go back again, and again, and again...

Our hay-ride driver.


The last one that fit in the bag... and I squished 'em too!


Tonight, we made two French apple pies, apple/berry cobbler, and baked oven apples, with brown sugar and oat topping. OMG so yummy....

4 comments:

  1. OHHHHHHHHHHH! I have been scouring
    the stores for some Jonathan apples, but none to be found. I
    wish I knew you were going; I would
    have had you pick me some.
    YUM! We'll be over for dessert!

    Mom

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  2. we picked almost 20 lbs of total apples! YUM!!!

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  3. OH YUM. I remember LOVING to go apple-picking as a wee youth.

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  4. Super yum! Apple-picking is great. My parents and Grandparents both had apple trees that we used to pick at from the back yard...delish!

    Save some desserts for me-
    LP

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