Things to Make - Apples, Lots of Apples

As soon as we returned from Stribling Orchard, Dan and I looked at each other and said basically the same thing at the same time - "wow, that's a LOT of apples." In the orchard, it didn't seem like we had THAT many, but once the bags occupied most of our kitchen, we felt overwhelmed. So Dan hopped in the car and drove to Williams-Sonoma to purchase a corer/peeler/slicer thingy. And thus began our week of apples. Luckily, all three kids loved taking turns on the apple peeler, so our kitchen was fully-staffed. And the girls couldn't stop eating the pencil-thin strands of peel, I think they liked these better than all the apple recipes we tried.

Here's what we've made so far:

EASY APPLE CRISP (recipe include in the instruction manual for the peeler)

*5-6 cups apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
*3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice concentrate, thawed
*2 tbs. flour
*1/2 cup rolled oats
*1/4 cup all purpose flour
*1/2 cup brown sugar
*1/4 tsp. cinnamon
*1/4 tsp. nutmeg
*1/4 cup butter

Stir together the apples, apple juice concentrate, and 1 tbs. flour. Place in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Mix together the remaining ingredients and sprinkle over the filling. Bake at 375 degrees (190 degrees C) for 35 to 40 minutes.



SLOW COOKER APPLESAUCE (recipe from P's preschool teacher)
*8-10 apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
*1/2 cup water
*1 teaspoon cinnamon
*1/2 cup sugar.

Cook on HIGH for 3 to 3.5 hours or until apples are falling apart.



SLOW COOKER BAKED APPLES(recipe from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook (NYM Series))

*6 large baking apples
*2/3 cup brown sugar
*1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*2 tablespoons butter, cut into 6 small pieces
*1/2 cup apple juice

Grease the crock pot with butter. Remove apple cores leaving 1/2 inch of flesh at the bottom. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar and pack into the apple cores. Arrange apples in cooker, right side up. If necessary, stack apples on top of each other, offset the stack apples so they aren't squarely on top of each other. Place butter on each apple and sprinkle with left over cinnamon and brown sugar mix. Cook on HIGH for 2.5 to 3.5 hours, until apples are slightly soft but not mushy.
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We still have about 1/4 bushel left, any recipe suggestions? I'm running out of steam.

Places to Go - Apple Picking at Stribling Orchard (Markham, VA)

Two weekends ago we loaded up the minivan and brought the family to Stribling Orchard for some apple picking (which we found via KidFriendly DC). Stribling grows twelve different varieties of apples (nine of which were in season when we visited). The orchard has beautiful mountain views and lots of parking throughout the fields. They also have a pumpkin patch and, on weekends, bbque. Luckily for us the owners left a few tractors in the fields, which entertained T for a long period of time. And we all enjoyed a nice afternoon without rain (rare as that has been these days).


(Under the Pecan Tree made matching ponytail holders for the girls. Doesn't P look adorable in her's?)

Though I love apples, I also had my own agenda for the day -I recently attended a (very helpful) photography workshop with Shay Cochrane and wanted to try out my new tricks. So Dan and the girls picked apples while I said things like "could you stand over here? No, to the right a little. Now don't move." Which summarizes my problem with photography, the more I learn the more I end up posing people, which sort of ruins the experience (though Dan's good at taking one for the team and accepting my quirks). If you look through this blog often the best days accompany the crappiest pictures because I cared more about "the moment" then "the picture" (though some days, especially when it's overcast or late in the day, good photos come easy). I always wonder when I look through Kelly Hamptons' BEAUTIFUL blog how she can possibly enjoy the moment and take photo-shoot worthy pictures all the time. How do you make sure your children's happiness occurs in the best available light? Or is it all post-processing tricks (which take A LOT of time)? So Kelly, if you ever read this (yes, I understand the chances are low), please let me know your secret.



MONDAY LINKS:

*Rookie - a website for teenage girls. Wow, finally something that treats this genre like the intelligent people they are rather than the shopping-obsessed bimbos that marketers' portray them as. Plus, it's sort of fun for adults as well. Bravo Tabitha. Bravo!

*I CAN'T STOP listening to this song.

*Five lovely images. The first one is my favorite.

*Lottie Davies' travel series. Wow. Just wow.

*This budget house makeover is one of the best I've ever seen.