getting there is half the fun

There was an article about Little Dog Orchard in my CSA's newsletter this summer.  The owners of Little Dog Orchard are Manhattan transplants who moved upstate a few years ago and are in the process of converting the orchard from conventional to natural growing methods.  If you lease a tree, one is assigned to you and is cared for during the growing season.  When the apples are ready to be picked, you can go spend a day upstate and collect apples from your tree.  My husband and I decided to lease an Empire apple tree.  I liked the idea of local, spray-free apples, going directly from the tree to my kitchen.  Not to mention that leasing a tree guaranteed me an autumn day upstate picking apples!

This past Saturday we went upstate for a lovely afternoon of apple picking. We may have gotten a little carried away, because we came home with 6 huge (huge!) bags of apples. After giving away as many apples as we could, we still had more than we knew what to do with. Applesauce, apple butter, apple pie, apple apple apple...?

After standing in the kitchen peeling apples for what felt like a very long time, I decided to get comfy on the floor with a bowl for my peels.  I started cooking and kept peeling apples until I had a blister on my finger.  As that blister grew I became increasingly grouchy.  Luckily it wasn't long before my baby woke up from his nap, so it was time for a break.  :)

Soon our apartment was filled with the scent of warm apples and cinnamon, and my mind was racing into the future.  I thought about apple picking when Baby A is older.  As an urban baby (urban child) I want to make sure he knows where his food comes from.  Picking apples, bringing them home and then creating all sorts of delicious edibles out of them is one great way to help him understand that.  Next year I'm definitely getting one of those apple peeler/corer/slicers though!