Apples
Madison picking an apple
Zach testing an apple
Elyse striking a pose while picking an apple
Gavin was enthralled with a baby pigmy goat
Today we found a great apple orchard where we could pick our own apples. It was a wonderful day. It was about 80 degrees outside today (unusually warm). I think the kids really enjoyed choosing apples to pick!
Gavin seemed to love the freedom of being able to run and locate apples. It was such a pleasure to see the fun that the kids were having!
After apple picking, we made 14 pints of applesauce and 7 quarts of apple pie filling. We are also freezing cut apples and will of course have a bunch on hand simply for eating. The applesauce was incredible. There really isn't anything quite as good as harvesting food and preserving it immediately.
We had our own little apple assemply line. Gavin carried apples and threw them into the sink, Elyse and Zach washed apples and peeled, Madison cored, and I sliced and canned. Very cool! I think it is very good for the kids to see where food comes from. They interact with the food by picking the apples, peeling the fruit, cooking it down, and canning it. In the end they have apple sauce. The children seem to really appreciate food more now that they understand the harvesting and cooking of food (applesauce does not naturally occur in a jar).
This is one of the final days of a family of four children. Soon there will be five....
6 comments:
Hey Emma,
Thank you for keeping this blog. I haven't really commented before, but I enjoy reading your entries. You're an inspiration to those of us who haven't gotten quite as far in our journey to sustainability. (I'm doing the best I can but between working full time and going to school, I don't have all that much free time.
That is the cutest picture of your kids at the end of the entry. I hope to have similar pictures of my own someday!
And congratulations on the baby!
Thanks again,
Rebecca
http://myflightfromthegrid.blogspot.com/
P.S. Can I put a link to your blog from mine? I think some of my readers would appreciate your blog as well.
Rebecca,
Thanks for your comments! I think that any effort towards sustainability is important and wonderful! Good luck on your own journey. I find it enlightening.
Hey - and good for you to be pursuing your education. In itself, that can be a challenge. So, kudos to you! Good luck.
Of course you may link to my blog. :)
I've been reading your blog for a while and wishing I still lived in MN (my favorite place in the US but I haven't been there except the 4 years of college) and could meet you in person! Anyway, I just had to comment because this thought has stuck with me since reading this post yesterday: Why did you peel the apples? It's more nutritious, less work, and less wasteful if you leave the peels on. I barely even notice them in my applesauce!
I, too, got apples last week from an orchard, but we didn't pick them. Maybe when my daughter, now 22 months, is a year or two older and can help out more. I can't wait! She had fun walking thru the orchard with her grandfather while Mom and I picked out varieties to eat and seconds to make sauce and juice with.
AnnMarie my blog on simple/frugal living
Ann Marie, you are right! I did not even things about not peeling the apples. I guess I was originally taught to peel, so it seemed the most natural.I think I will not peel for the next batch! I don't peel potatoes .. So, great point!
I do love MN! I can't imagine living anywhere else. Then again, I have not really lived elsewhere (with the exception of a brief stint in Alaska). Anytime that you are in Minn, let me know! :)
Hey no fair you had plenty of help with applesauce! (just kidding). Sounds like a great team. Wow it still looks like summer down there. Applefest is this weekend in Bayfield, so I'm taking a break from abandoned orchards and visiting some up that way. There is at least one orchard that sells Honeycrisps, my favorite.
Hi, I'm visiting your blog for the first time. I found you via Carla's blog.I am really enjoying catching up with all your posts on your journey to simplicity.
You are lucky to have a big apple picking crew. I'll come back and visit again.
Post a Comment