oh how i love apple season

It's early in the season so the pickings were limited but so so so very delicious!  The Burgundy apples are tiny and slightly tart with a blush of red that bleeds into the fruit. Gravensteins are sweet and make the yummiest of cider, not that we ever cider them up but still, they taste delicious.

The Galas were early and mostly yellow but perfectly crisp and juicy juicy juicy. Mollie's Delicious are a cross of your classic Reds (though I've read that they are not) and are hearty and crisp.

I have to admit that apples are my first and favorite fruit of all time. There are so many varieties and they are available fresh from late summer to spring. I love how different they can be from each other and I of course love them baked in a pie...we usually never make it to pie making as the apples get eaten up lickety split...

I decided to break that tradition. I made a tart. A puff pastry delight. We did not have any cream so I dusted the pastry with powdered sugar and black pepper. It was incredible.

My arm was barely twisted as we need to clean out the fridge at the tiny casa and there is no room in the homestead's freezer. One half a package of puff pastry and a handful of fresh summer apples and you got yourselves a delicious dessert!

We need to eat up our ten pounds as the Mutsus and Tohokus are in! It looks like it's time to pull out that other half of pastry!

the apples are back!

We're having a bit of a cool summer here. Actually, I think our summers here are generally cool anyway. Things heat up in August and if today means anything, it means summer is finally here. Granted, it was only in the 80s but for us, that IS hot!

Warmer temps or not, August makes me think of the beginning of Fall and Fall makes me think of apples and wouldn't you know it...

Our favorite apple farm has opened its doors for the season. We picked up ten pounds, which will soon be gone, gone, gone. Empire, Mutsu & Gravensteins...good stuff.

We also snatched up some plums...good times, my friends, good times.

Today apples (and a visit to the pier), tomorrow...the cove!

I'm in a cooking kind of mood...

Or rather I WANT to be in a cooking kind of mood...

I've been working on an essay for class that we are supposed to actually write IN class but I want to be prepared, ya know? So, instead of actually doing what I should be doing, I'm dreaming of eating lovely things and it being the day after Johnny Appleseed Day I thought apples would be a good theme. In fact, I think I am going to bake some apple cupcakes. Doesn't that sound lovely? Oooh, I wish I had an apple corer. I have an awesome thing I make. Or, rather adapt. My brother makes this amazing spicey candied pecan salad with green apples, dried cherries & red onion. I once had too much of the other stuff and no lettuce so I made a yummy stuffed apple and I will write down what I did and encourage you to TRY THIS! It is extra special yummy!

What you need:

*crisp Granny Smith apples
*chopped red onion
*stinky stilton cheese
*spiced candies pecans
**i sautee mine in butter with 1/4 c sugar and a lotta sprinkles of cayenne!

Mix all but the apples in a small bowl. Core your apples and stuff them with the yumminess. Slice and enjoy with a slice of crusty bread some minted fizz water. Exquisite!

Okay, back to writing and some baking! Happy Tuesday!

apple lurve

If you ask me what my favorite fruit is I usually will answer BOBB! BOBB, to those not in the know is watermelon. Long story as to how it got the name but not really. I have been calling the melon BOBB since 1993 or so when a friend picked one up for me on the way home from Vegas. She was quite excited to surprise me with the perfect melon. She presented it with such florish in the parking lot of Bookstar, Woodland Hills that I serendipitously christenned it BOBB. Another favorite is seedless BOB, you get the picture. As much as I love BOB and I do, I really do, we at the A-go-go household can consume 2 a week, I will have to admit that my favorite absolute favorite fruit is apples. Apples are always in season and each season brings a different apple. I am quite freakish about my apples. I get in apple moods where I must, no I need a Pink Lady or a McIntosh or a Braeburn. Even a Red Delicious gets its moment with me. I however, do NOT like mealy apples. Mealy apples make me sad. So do Honeycrisps. I'm not a fan.

The everyday apple of choice here in the casa is a Gala though recently I picked up some awesome Fujis. Funny as I'm not a big fan of the Fuji but these were faboo! I read about different apples and want to travel to sample them. There are over 7000 varieties of apple in our world! 7000! Wowza! Pictured above is a baby apple. I think it may be a Baby Gala, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure what to do with it but lookie, isn't it cuter than cute? Maybe I should hop on over to scrumdilly-do and feature it for a wee apple pie. While we don't need wee aplles for miniature pies, how cute would that be?

There you go, my lurve for apples is no longer a secret. I also adore apple related things but not the plaid apple crap* that seems to swamp teacher's desks. Apple fabric, cute apples, kawaii apples, anthropomorphic apples...What I love most about apples is that they are portable. The yare great just as is or cut up and tossed into a fruit salad or my brother's famous salad. You can bake, candy, saute and roast them. Apples are awesome. Apple juice not so awesome . Apple sauce is pretty cool too, especially homemade hot applesauce...yum!

Okee doke. If you are an apple fan, why don't ya head on over to my etsy shop and pick up an apple printed eyeglass cozie, come on they're nifty. They've even been featured in the Adorn Mag Blog. Speaking of Adorn, subscriptions are now $9.99 go for it! If yer looking for something more decorative, check out Superbuzzy for some neato cute apple magnets. If you are in need of an immediate apple fix, chop one up for breakfast...smear it with peanut butter, ooh or you can try the jekissa delight...core yer apple and stuff it with a mixture of stilton, dried cherries, red onion & sweet peppered pecans. Slice it and enjoy. I guarantee you will love it!

*A fellow educator and I went to a fantastic music seminar for kids and all around us were preschool teachers and librarians geared up in all sorts of scary plaid apple clothing and accoutrements. Super scary and not cute at all. It made us wonder if there was some sort of rule to becoming a preschool teacher ...you know like mustaches on cops.