Showing posts with label apple cider. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apple cider. Show all posts

Monday, September 24, 2012

Apple Pickin'!

 
Earlier this summer Jordan and I were traveling through Ipswich to go to the “Crane Estate” ( which by the way, we never made it to…) when we drove by Russell’s Orchard which had strawberry picking at the time (which is what we wound up doing instead).  

Whilst at Russell’s we ate cider donuts, fed the goats and chickens, and purchased some fruit wine, as well as picked an obscene amount of strawberries.

So this fall, I decided I wanted to go apple picking. So we headed back to Russell’s! 

 
I actually do not remember the last time I went apple picking… I am sure I did it at some point as a child, but I have no recollection of it. For some reason apple picking always reminds me of an old Care Bear movie we had that involved Hugs and Tugs apple picking from a magical regenerating tree—which I am pretty sure was a play on some bible story or another. 
 

Anyway, Jordan was telling me how apple picking was very intense and involved lots of climbing trees to get the best apples. Turns out that may have been what he remembered from when he was younger, but we could practically reach the tops of most of the trees from the ground.


We got a fine variety including MacIntosh, Gala, Cortlands, Jungagolds, and Fiji's


The picking was a lot easier than Jordan made it sound like it was going to be, half of the apples were already on the ground- and in pretty good shape!

 In the end, we may have gone a bit overboard... we left with 32 pounds of apples! 

Expect apple recipes in the near future!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Seasonal Soup and Salad: The Salad

Getting a CSA is a great way to force you to eat seasonally- and eat some what creatively. Normally I just go to the grocery store and buy whatever is on sale or looks good.

With a CSA- I get a box of random vegetables and fruits that are fresh, local and in season. It has also forced me to get more variety in my diet which is always good too.

This weeks box included:
leeks (which I had never had before last week- I had to google to figure out what they were)
cabbage
arugula
broccoli
Some leafy green (Red Chard?)
lots and lots of potatoes
apples

Jon, as per usual, was pestering me what we were doing for dinner, so I told him what vegetables we needed to use- and we went ahead and googled recipes.

I decided on the Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with cider vinaigrette, and he made a Potato and Leek soup (recipe to follow!).



For my salad I used:
1 butternut squash
3 tb dried cranberries
1 tb pure maple syrup
salt and pepper
1 bunch arugula
1/2 head romaine (I used a whole head and had lots left over.)
1/2 cup walnuts
3 tb apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup apple cider
1 shallot
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 apple
fresh parm cheese

* first pre heat oven to 400*
* peel, cut and cube squash
* Place squash on baking sheet or pan, add maple syrup, a little bit of olive oil and some pepper and salt to squash and toss. Roast for ~15 minutes.
* add cranberries after 15 minutes, mix again and continue to roast until cooked.
* add chopped shallot, vinegar and apple cider to a small sauce pan and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
*remove dressing from heat. Add dijon mustard and olive oil. Mix well.
* wash, dry and cut arugula and lettuce.
* cut apple (add lemon, or other citrus juice to keep from browning.

* prep plates by placing greens, apple, walnuts, parm cheese.
* once squash is done, add some to salad. (I let mine cool for a little bit first.
* add small amount of well mixed dressing to salad and enjoy!