And on the seventh day...

[altivo]

...it rained.

We were afraid the orchard would be closed but went down there anyway and they were still open in the rain so we got some emore apples (you can never have too many apples.) More Cortlands, and some Melrose (my fave of the varieties they grow.)

Came back, did chores, worked on my weaving a bit. Gary transferred photos of the gallery with all the stuff on display out of his camera but it's too late tonight for me to upload any. So, tomorrow maybe.

Falling asleep I am. Good night.

Comments

[rustitobuck.livejournal.com]

I kinda miss "back in the day" going to the apple orchard and picking apples, which then came home with us and got peeled and cored and spiral cut in one fell swoop and became part of some made-from-scratch apple pies (I even made the crust).

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well goodness, then, do it. We still do. Especially the crust. :)

That's the destiny of at least a third of these apples. Gary is an applevore, though. When good ones are available, I go through a couple a day but he consumes them incessantly. It's a race trying to make pies or apple crisp before they're all gone.

Yesterday morning I made apple pancake. The kind where you bake a huge eggy pancake in the oven, then fill it with sliced cooked apples and fold it over. Num.

[goldenstallion.livejournal.com]

Whinnyhi.

I am supposed to eat lots of fruit and vegetables. We all are. BUT I cannot eat the bland and flavorless and weird-textures apples I find in stores and it is impossible to tell by type and appearance. So good idea, to find a local orchard like that (I am sure there must be) and find ones I enjoy (I do LOVE a good apple but gave up long ago).

Oranges are ok, so are banannas although kinda bland after Bolivia and Yungas Valley fresh-picked. Of course they put these huge strawberrys on top because, I guess, stupid people thing bigger is better, and they are also bland and flavorless. (The tiny home-grown strawberries are best of course).

Our pear tree pears are kinda bland and tasteless and very grainy (not good to eat at all) and our apples are wormy and spotted on the tree so those are not good options either. The peach tree USED to give delicious, little peaches but has not made a peach in three years (is dying).

So most fruit I eat is canned I am sorry to say. I do buy fresh Michigan strawberries from roadside vendors, as well as sweet corn when available. Never have liked most kinds of squash so that is not much help, either.

Tomatos are a favorite fruit and the ones on the vine are ok and sometimes delicious, as are the cherry ones.

So, time for a garden and Bear is all in favor, next year. Hoping for some suggestions from you then. We have a great location just need to rototill the area up and prepare the soil and plant and water and weed and tend. I actually enjoy and miss doing that (Had a great garden in Alaska).

Of course our apple and pear trees badly need pruning and I really should go do that soon (I know I will not do it when it is freezing cold with snow so need to do it soon if ever). That might help, along with perhaps spraying for bugs and disease.

Steed

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You don't have to use poison spray on the apples if you don't want to. There's a mixture of oil and water, sort of like glycerin, called "dormant oil" that can be sprayed now and will help reduce pests in the spring. You can also get some fake apples that are actually sticky traps like flypaper and they trap the adults of some of the insects that lay eggs to become apple worms.

When I was there in the fall I found that Meijer's had an excellent selection of apples, all Michigan grown. Michigan apples are much better than the ones that are shipped halfway across the continent. Varieties you should like include Empire, Honeycrisp, Jonathan (early in the season, they lose flavor after storage), Spy, Cortland (again during the season, they don't store well), Pink Lady, Chenango, Jonamac, and others. The ones to avoid are the red and yellow "Delicious" which turn to sand in a colored wrapper, Macintosh which also turns to mush, Gala, and Granny Smith. The more common grocery store varieties are usually the worst eating. Like the hard tomatoes, they are grown for commercial properties rather than actual quality: unblemished skin, bright color, ships without bruising, disease resistant.

It's early for pears. The good ones start to show around Halloween. Avoid Bartlett. Comice, Bosc, or Anjou are usually good. They are still hard as rocks when you get them at the store, and must be allowed to ripen at room temperature. Check daily. When they soften enough to "give" to a pinch at the stem end, eat them up. They are ready then and won't keep much longer.

Peaches have been disappointing for a long time, though good ones are grown in Michigan and you may be able to get them in July or August.

Citrus, of course, has to be brought in for us. It won't be very good until Thanksgiving, and the prices won't be great until probably Christmas or later. I like tangerines and clementines, but oranges from California are usually good and what they call a "mineola" which is, I think, a hybrid of orange and tangerine. Florida citrus is best squeezed for juice. The best grapefruits come from Texas and are the ones with red flesh.

Are you allowed to eat green vegetables? I know some folks who have had heart stents or other procedures are told not to eat too much of those, though I'm inclined to disagree. Broccoli and brussels sprouts are usually good from the supermarket. So are the snow peas. The green beans, alas, are not and are much better home grown. Fortunately they are easy to grow and even to freeze. I like pole beans, even though you need to put up a trellis for them, because you don't have to bend over to pick them and they produce gradually for weeks instead of coming all at once so you have to can or freeze them.

As for squash, I think probably you just need the right recipes. We love both summer and winter squashes. What have you tried?

[cabcat.livejournal.com]

*sneaks up to the apple basket and looks about for the pony with the water bucket*

[altivo.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I didn't think cats liked apples, but go ahead and have one if you like. There are plenty.