APPLES!

We’ve been to pick apples a couple of times now.  Our favorite place to pick is Conant’s Apple Orchard in Etna.  You really can’t go wrong.  The apples are tasty and a really good price.  (We paid $13 for a large paper grocery bag full)

What happens when Mommy is left in charge of carrying the bag

Of course, we then had to do something with all of these apples!  Of course, we could eat them, but with such a big bag of apples, we were running the risk of losing them to rot.

So I got to work and made some apple sauce. (I don’t know where this recipe came from).

Apple Sauce

1 quart (4 cups) peeled and sliced apples

1 cup water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

cinnamon (optional)

Cook about 20 minutes.  Mash (I use my immersion blender).

A double batch of this recipe yielded me 1 quart plus 1 snack of apple sauce.  (I took to making 4 batches at once to get more at a time).

Of course, we also made Apple Bread like last year.   T keeps waiting and asking for Apple Dumplings, as well.  (I’ll get to them.  We still have about 1/4 of our bag left).

I also made an apple crisp.   This recipe is from my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook.

Apple Crisp

4 cups apples, sliced

2/3-3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

1/3 cups margarine, softened

3/4 tsp cinnamon

Grease 8x8x2 pan (I used a Pampered' Chef stoneware pie plate).  Put apples in.

Mix together rest of ingredients and sprinkle on top.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Our other favorite place for apples is Treworgy Family Orchard in Levant.  Well, they are really our favorite place in general, but they have some really good apples there. 

They also have hay rides on weekends, a corn maze, pick your own pumpkins, a gift shop, a cafe, goats for petting and so much more.   I think T and I love the place just as much as the kids do.

What have you been doing with your apples?  Anything tasty to share?

Wordless Weekend Rewind

In honor of Maine Maple Sunday

Next Sunday is Maine Maple Sunday. I'm currently browsing the list of participating maple producers to figure out where we're going to bring Monkey to see a real maple operation in the works.

I say a "real" operation because we have a little makeshift operation set up right on our front lawn. Please look at what I have on my front lawn (this picture is from last year, but the bucket has been out for a week now this year).

T is planning on just boiling for two whole days (two consecutive Sundays because he needs to be out there keeping an eye on things). Our "sugary" is the turkey fryer set up in the shed. Last year, T made enough syrup to almost get us through the year! Hopefully he can get the amount just right this year.

Yes, that is a Playboy and a can of beer you see on the little table. I'm obviously not allowed in on the boiling time.

You like our set up? It works well for us, that's for sure!

Around the state in less than a day

So, we didn't hit the entire state, nearly. But we did do a pretty big loop through!

We started off an hour later than we were hoping, but 9 AM was still a pretty good start. We made our way down to Unity for the Common Ground Fair. It being my first time, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. We had a lot of fun! Monkey enjoyed the music and people watching. T and I got some good ideas for next year's garden (specifically, the tomatoes!). Monkey also loved all of the animals, but like most toddlers, she lost interest in the sheep dog show after less than 15 minutes.We spent most of the day there checking out all of the booths and exhibits. The hand knit goods reinforced my desire to learn how to knit.

From Unity, we took the long way home (long, out of the way route). We drove to Skowhegan to visit Oak Pond Brewery. It's owned by a husband and wife duo. He gave us a tour and then gave us samples to try. T very much enjoyed Laughing Loon, but he also liked the Nut Brown Ale and Pale Ale. We brought 1/2 gallon each of Laughing Loon and of the Nut Brown home. If you bring the bottle back, cleaned and ready to fill, you can get a refill for $5. Great deal!

From there, we took Route 2 back towards Bangor instead of hopping on the I-95. We stopped at Conant Orchard in Etna (it's right on Route 2 - you can't miss it). We got a paper grocery bag full of apples for $11. That is an awesome price considering we spend $10 a peck at Treworgy Orchards in Levant. The price was great, but for overall experience, I still recommend Treworgy Orchards. They have a petting zoo, corn maze, the apple orchard, hay rides, a pumpkin patch and an ice cream bar.

From there, we headed on home. It was a very full day!

Morning coffee.

As I sit here, I'm enjoying my morning brew. I dread the time when we're ready to have a second child. Don't get me wrong - I love my Monkey and do want more children. I dread the 9 months of pregnancy forcing me to give up my morning cup - and the 12 months (plus) of breastfeeding where I need to pare it down. Caffeine withdrawals are the pits. Though I would rather give it up to play it safe, it doesn't mean I won't complain about it!

In the past, when we didn't really know any better, we always purchased whatever was cheapest (ground, of course). Then, while registering for wedding gifts, something made T register for a coffee grinder. Friends purchased it for us. Thus began our love affair with a fresher brew (as beans stay fresher much longer than the grounds).

We began experimenting with brands. Folgers was a name we knew well, so we started out with their whole beans. We then moved on to Green Mountain Coffee. We could measure out the exact amount of beans we wanted, as opposed to the prepackaged varieties. Breakfast Blend is still one of our favorites. Occasionally we'd foray into flavored coffees, but we always came back to Breakfast Blend. That is, until T opened our hometown newspaper one day and saw a story about a new roasting company.

Acadia Roasting Company is located near our hometown. We are all about supporting local companies and buy locally as much as we can, so it seemed pretty obvious to try them out. We have since tried all 3 of their caffeinated varieties (they do have a decaf, for you decaf drinkers) and have yet to be disappointed.

Our trips up north have always consisted of making lists of purchases we need to make (Houlton Farms butter for T, for instance). Making sure we've got a constant supply of coffee beans is now at the top of our shopping list.