Well, wouldn't you know it, as soon as I posted the Friday food round-up, I fell deathly ill! Ok, not deathly, but a pretty bad cold/flu thing that had me miserable and comatose all of Friday and Saturday. Today, however, I miraculously woke up feeling better, so we decided to celebrate by going apple picking. We found O'Neill's Farm, and it looked like they had many different varieties of apples, so we went for it.
To our great surprise, O'Neill's Farm also has pick your own raspberries- for only $1.50 a pint, and who can resist that?
Even though the farm warned that it was a "slow picking day" we had no problem finding enough to fill our pint- and they were so sweet. I realized today that I'd never had a raspberry that hadn't come from a market!
On to the apples...
The trees were literally bending from the weight of all the apples.
We decided to go for Cortland apples, because we were told they were the best for baking.
Daiku and I realized that we have very different preferences when it comes to apple picking. He likes to pick ones from way up high on the trees...
While I prefer small and unusual looking apples. I'm convinced that apples with funny marks or patterns on them taste better- go figure.
Our loot!
The peck of apples cost $4.50. We picked Cortlands, Crispins, and McIntosh.
I can never keep all the different varieties straight. I do know that my favorites are Pippins, which I almost never see in New York. Check out this website for an extensive list of apples.
So the apples, the raspberries, and the 2 apple fritters Daiku picked up
...came to $8.50. Not bad for a morning of fun.
On the way home, we swung by downtown, where this weekend's Oktoberfest celebrations were coming to an end. Was I the last person on earth to realize that Oktoberfest is actually in September?...
(Wait... isn't that a west German flag...?)It was fun to listen to a German band and watch people dance and polka
But the smell of all the food made us really hungry, so we rushed home and ate a vegan German meal of Tofurky dogs with mustard and sauerkraut. A delicious end to a great day- but then again, everything tasted better when you're recovering from sickness! Watch out for lots of apple goodies in next Friday's food round-up...
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14 comments:
You must have had the same illness my son has, and now I think has given me! Looks like you had a crazy fun day. What a deal on the apples. Our farmers markets are just getting in apples and I can't wait to start baking apple goodies. Seems like last year I made something yummy in the crockpot. Please post all of your creations.
For chocolate chips - Tropical Source by Sunspire has chips that are vegan AND gluten free, so I use those. They are semisweet, but taste pretty dark, and they're smaller than normal, which I like.
Oh, i hope you are feeling better... i wonder what is wrong? GET WELL!
Love the fruit, especially those lovely raspberries, very nice!
Isn't it too bad that you had to go home to make your food? It's such a shame there was no Tofurkey dogs w/the fixin's there at the 'fest?! Some day...
I'm sorry to hear that you were under the weather. Sounds like a great day though. I really can't wait to go apple picking - although Marty isn't too keen on it. He'd rather just buy them. Oh boy! Your raspberries have my mouth watering. I could have eaten that entire pint in one sitting. They're so expensive in the stores and I really don't think they taste anywhere near as good as fresh off the vine. I'd like to try to plant some raspberry vines here at my house. Hopefully next year.
And WTF? Since when is Oktoberfest in September? Is everyone losing their mind?
I'm with Karen. It's really so sad that you couldn't have gotten a Tofurky dog at the festival. Bummer. When will our society progress?
Glad you got better quickly. 24 hour flu is weird as it leaves as fast as it arrives.
How wonderful to be able to pick your own fruit, we don't have it here ar all. Probably because labour is cheap so they don't need casual pickers.
Haven't been to Oktoberfest for years. Was great fun when I did.
Thanks for the visit. Yes, French Breakfast Radishes look interesting as they say they are mild and sweet and great in salad. Must try an get the seeds as they only take 24 days from planting to picking.
All I want to do is apple pick! And pumpkin pick. It's still "summer" here.
Thank you for visiting my blog. I love your pictures. Your kitties are beautiful. I love cats. thanks for the link to The Conscious of a Carnivore. I don't agree that humans evolved to eat meat or need to eat meat. I think there's a lot of evidence that our bodies are not meant for meat-eating.
Mary French
Oh no, sorry to hear you came down with a bad cold. Glad to hear you're feeling better.
Ah, an apple orchard post, you know I love it! I enjoyed all the pictures. Those raspberries look delicious!!! Great deal on the apples too. They look great. One of my favorite apples are Snow Apples. They can be hard to find though. If you ever see them, be sure to get some.
Sounds like you had a fun day :) What a great meal to have after Oktoberfest (well minus the mustard, not a fan of mustard but Rob is). I'm looking forward to your Friday post. I'm sure it will be filled with yummy apple dishes.
Thanks for the visits and the well wishes, everyone! I am getting better, although my throat is still a little raw.
Atxvegn, I hope you and your son feel better! Coming down with a cold is such a bummer. (I especially like to brag that "I never get sick" so it's a humbling moment for me!)
Kleo and Crystal, I agree with you, is it too much to ask for veggie dogs at Oktoberfest? One day...
Crystal, I want to grow raspberries too! Seeing them at the farm yesterday convinced me that they do grow in this weather, so next summer, we will definitely give it a go.
Jackie, so "breakfast radishes" do exist! Now I'm obsessed with finding them. The name makes me think the French eat them with butter and salt on bread for breakfast, and that sounds so good to me.
Leslie, I'll gladly trade you some seasonal chill and apples for some of your sunshine and warmth! That way, we can each be closer to the middle. Brrrr- I'm cold.
Mary, thanks for your visit too. I definitely think that eating meat is in no way necessary for survival and in the contemporary world does more harm than good. Hello heart disease!
Emmy, snow apples sound intriguing. What do they look like? I'm always on the lookout for new varieties to try. I saw some on Martha Stewart's show (last year) that looked like Idaho potatoes- they were an heirloom variety. But they sounded so delicious! By the way, our orchard had "seconds" which I learned from you, so will definitely get some when we're going to do a big batch of sauce or apple butter. Thanks for the tip!
My boyfriend's got that phatom illness too! Strange... Cortlands are my second favorite apple and I swear by them for both baking and eating. So much better than Macs because they aren't mealy and mushy!
Oooh, apple season. That is one thing that I do miss about Upstate NY. Golden delicious are my favorite apples, followed by Pink Lady apples, I think. Feel better!
I saw your comments on a few of the blogs I visit so I thought I'd stop by.
What a great way to spend the day...looking forward to seeing how you use those apples.
I'm glad you are feeling better!!
The trip to the farm looks fun! The apples look great and the photos make me miss the MacIntosh apples on the East Coast! Washington is known for their apples, but I never liked them as much as home-picked East Coast ones!!
Oooh, the fair looks fun! I agree that it's really sad that you have to run home for healthy food. It will slowly change though.
Anyhow, glad you are well again! Enjoy them apples! Lol!
Bazu, you're welcome for the apple seconds tip :) The snow apples I get are a bit smaller than regular apples. They don't look particularly different so you might want to ask if they grow them. Inside, they literally are white, I guess, white as snow? My grandma loves them and remembers them from her childhood! As soon as they are in at the orchard I go to, I will post pics :)
Yay to your yummy finds at the Oktoberfest celebration. I'm so into making fruit crisps these last couple of weeks, wish I could have been picking appleas and raspberries with you.
Glad you recovered quickly from being sick.
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