Out for a Ride, In with Foodstuffs

Today it was decided to not bake nor cook and just relax, maybe go for a ride through the countryside. Wouldn't you know we ended up at our favorite markets. Now this is not just a ride around a park. Out in the area where the orchard is located many interesting scenes exist, filled with animals and farmland. Yes, we stopped at the farm orchard and brought home another four half gallons of cider and ANOTHER peck of Macoun apples! They plan to stay open until just before Christmas because the production of all of the apples, among other crops was extremely good this year and there are plenty of really nice varieties available still to be sold.

Who couldn't pass the produce stand without stopping in? Not us!  It was also a lucky morning because the last of the sweet corn and broccoli were just brought in from the field. Even though the tomatoes still are producing, they are running low. The tomatoes are beautiful to look at, nicely sun ripened and we couldn't resist getting two more although they cannot match our favorite ones, the home-grown Oxhearts, for flavor, low acidity and meatiness. (I have saved seeds for next year.)  We couldn't buy more of anything as the freezer is almost full now.

On the road home we shot over to a little popular and very busy general store and gas station in a nearby village to buy a hoagie for lunch when we arrived back home. It was a nice day. I didn't cook, bake, or even make lunch! Fresh cider was our beverage of choice. How wonderful is that?

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To the Orchard We Went

It's that time of year and I'm excited to see the great apples on display. Of course there are also plums, grapes and other good things but it's the apples and the freshly made and bottled cider that I look forward to bringing home. The peaches and tart cherries are gone.  This is our first trip out and is about 24 miles each way. We used to not be able to go until returning from our beach place in SC each November, but times have changed. It is better to start early!

We bought 4 half gallons of cider, and a half bushel of Macouns today. There are currently seven varieties of apples available. Macouns are my favorite. (Back in the early 70's picking them from trees in another orchard was my first job when we first moved permanently in PA.) I freeze the cider after topping it down and we definitely plan to get more. It is soooooo delicious. I even have friends in NJ who want me to save them some, and I do. My yearly supply will last until next August! Yes, that is the truth. At the end I have to ration it so we don't run out before more containers fill the entire top shelf of the freezer again.

The orchard folk save "oddities" and this year, since we're early and the sorting continues in their back room, there will be more. We were told that the hail damaged many, leaving spots (dings) and holes, sometimes large. Another oddity I saw was one that is called a "bellybutton." Yes, and I know why. See?

The next trip out will be for more apples, cider and perhaps even pumpkins, squash and gourds. Piper and Murphy will greet us again. Lovely and friendly dogs! Jeannie and Roger and the entire staff are such friendly and nice people who bend over backwards to assist their visitors. We love Jayne's Orchard. I'll try to take more pictures the next time. 

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