How About Dem Apples?

We managed to fit a trip to the apple orchard (Chudleigh’s) in yesterday in between a soccer tryout and a hockey game.  My weekends have been jam packed with kid stuff and I was determined to do something un-sport related for an hour or so.  I’m not a HUGE apple fan, but there are 3 varieties that I enjoy.  And they happened to have all 3 ready as either “pick your own” or “pre picked”.   So what are my top 3?  Here you go, in order!

Honey Crisp:

Ginger Gold:


Royal Gala:

For some unknown reason I walked out of there with no Gala.  What a dork, but these are easy to find in the grocery store I shop at.  The other 2 are only sold a higher end stores which are all across town from me.  BOO!  I also bought a bag of McIntosh because it’s the only variety that DS will eat.
I think this was the reason I got thrown off course with the galas!  Anyways, here is some info on the varieties that I got:
“Honeycrisp is an apple cultivar developed at the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station's Horticultural Research Center at the University of Minnesota. Designated in 1974 as the MN 1711, and released in 1991, the Honeycrisp, once slated to be discarded, has rapidly become a prized commercial commodity, as its sweetness, firmness, and tartness make it an ideal apple for eating raw. The Honeycrisp also retains its pigment well and boasts a relatively long shelf life when stored in cool, dry conditions.”

(source)

“Ginger Gold is one of the earliest commercial apple varieties to ripen, bearing in August on the east coast or even July in California. The fruit is conical and starts out a very pale green, though if left on the tree will ripen to a soft yellow with a slightly waxy appearance.  The primary use is for eating out of hand, though it can be used for most other purposes. The flesh, of a cream color, resists browning more than most varieties. The flavour is mild but with a tart finish.”



(source)

“Gala apples are small and are usually red with a portion being greenish or yellow-green, vertically striped. Gala apples are fairly resistant to bruising and are sweet, grainy, with a mild flavour and a thinner skin than most apples. Quality indices include firmness, crispness and sweetness.”

(source)
The orchard also has pumpkins, and lots of them.  I set DD out with my camera while we waited in a long line so these great photos are courtesy of her!
We treated the kids to candy apples which they had never had before:
  
Not surprisingly, DD made fast work of hers, DS started out strong but called it quits at the halfway point!
And I couldn’t leave without the prerequisite photo of my kids sitting on the pumpkins!
On Saturday I put the last of my yellow tomatoes to use in a quick, easy soup.  Let’s call it “Golden Tomato Soup”, shall we?
-3 ripe yellow tomatoes, wedged
-1 onion, wedged
-dashes of oregano, cumin, chilli powder, salt & pepper
-1 tbsp olive oil
-1 cup stock or water
-1/2 milk (I used almond breeze)
*pre heat oven to 400*
*combine tomatoes, onions, spices and oil in a large bowl
*dump onto large cookie sheet and roast for 25 minutes
*put veggies and all juices into a stock pot and add water
*bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes
*puree (I used an immersion blender)
*add milk and bring back to temperature
*serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, sour cream or quark 
This is very similar to my Butternut Squash soup.    Just different veg, but same delicious results!  And you could totally use red tomatoes!
Even though I’ve been changing up the format of my posts, food is still a big part of my world and I’d like to keep it as a key point in my posts.  So here are some of my eats from the past few days!
Dark chocolate cherry mocha oats…

Nature’s Path hemp seed hot oats…

I had this turkey sub for dinner last night.  I never, ever get a foot long but last night I reasoned that the foot long was only 50 cents more than the 6”.  NEVER AGAIN!  This was WAY too much food and even though I didn’t eat it all, I still ate too much.  I was still full this morning and my stomach has not been happy with me today.  :/
 
The above dish was dinner tonight.  I sautéed 2 yellow and 2 red bell peppers with one onion, added some chicken thighs, tomato sauce and spices.  I served it over quinoa for a great meal!

I just pulled a batch of muffins out of the oven and the house smells GREAT.  I’ll save that recipe for my next post, though.  ;)
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Bye for now!!