10.05.2016

Apples and Orchards

Over the weekend we decided to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and head to the foothills to check out the apple orchards. In merely 90 minutes we were in wide open spaces, fresh air, and mountain views. It was just the kind of retreat we needed to recharge. The added bonus was we also stocked up on apples during our outing.
Marcus had been begging for weeks (months?) to go apple picking. I have no idea where he got the notion, as I'm sure he didn't remember our first orchard trip, which we made two years ago. Last year we had full intentions of getting to the orchards, but a crazy heat wave and a very new infant just didn't make things possible.
Upon arrival Marcus was bursting at the seems with excitement. He was so ready to pick every apple he could reach. Unfortunately, we visited so late in the season that many of the trees had been picked clean, or some tree's apples were just not ripe enough to bring home. Regardless, we searched until we had a few bags heartily filled. Marcus was on a quest, and slim pickings were not going to stand in his way of filling his bag.

A quick stop at the mill gave us a go at pressing our own cider. Marcus wanted in on every step of the process.
For a majority of the time Julia was content to hang out in the Kelty. But no apple picking experience would be complete if she didn't get to romp around a bit herself. I don't want to rush time, but I can't wait to see how different her experience is next year.
After several pounds of apples and one filled-to-the-brim gallon of cider, we retreated from the foothills.

Currently, I am in the process of making all the apple things, and I can't say anyone is the least bit mad about the goodies that are coming out of the kitchen.

If you have any great apple recipes I'd love to hear them in the comments!

13 comments:

  1. Such a fun family day! I've been making caramelized apples as a side & a treat! So delicious!

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  2. Pressing your own cider?! That sounds amazing. What a fun outing as a family. I LOVE that Marcus was so excited too. Someday we'll find an apple orchard and make a trip!

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  3. Love the pictures!! I'm not the biggest fan of apples so I always skip apple picking but really wanted to do strawberry picking this year and didn't get to. I'm excited for the pumpkin patch this weekend though!

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  4. What a fun trip! I love that you are able to make cider while there. How cool is that?! Love the pictures!

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  5. This looks so fun!!! I love that you made cider!

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  6. So fun! It's really neat that you can make your own cider there! I have a recipe for raw apple spice cake on the blog, it's pretty yummy. :)

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  7. That is really cool that you got to press your own cider too!

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  8. I love that place and am pretty bummed we never made it! The first time we went, we went late in the season too and there were almost no apples. BUT bonus was that it was SUPER empty as well and no line for pressed cider! The next year we went during peak time and I regretted it lol. I still haven't figured out when the perfect time would be... not that Mother Nature will cooperate at all anyway...
    So glad you guys had such a good time!

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  9. Oh, this is so much fun! I wish our local apple orchard had a mill to make your own cider! That's so cool!

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  10. How awesome! I would love to take the girls apple picking!!! Plus, hello adorable photo op!

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  11. This has to be the best orchard I've seen to date. We haven't been to one yet and unless I get my act together, we might not make it.

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  12. They had a functional mill?!? Color me impressed. Apple cider is my seasonal favorite beverage. Theres that yellow skirt again ;)

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  13. you pressed your own cider?! THat, is s'cool!!

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