Apple season and simple dried apples rings/chips

What an apple year!  When I think of apples right now, the word "abundant" comes to mind.  The harvest from our one old tree has been incredible.  We have made jars and jars and jars of applesauce, eaten apples by the dozens, baked pies, and saved apples for cider (soon to be made).  And I also dried vast piles of apple rings, my favourite, for winter snacking and giving away as holiday gifts.   Note we did not dip the apples in lemon juice, so they are not as white as they would be if you did dip them (this also greatly depends on the variety of apples you are using). 

Making dried apple rings/apple chips:
1) Wash apples.
2) Cut into rings, or use an old-fashioned apple turner to slice and core apples thinly.
3) Dip into lemon juice to avoid browning (optional).
4) Dry using one of the following methods, until apples are leathery and nearly crispy (or if you like crispy apple chips keep drying until you get desired consistency).

a) With a Food Dehydrator
A food dehydrator is a quick method for bulk quantity apple drying (set at 135F for about 12-24 hours).

b) In a Low Oven
Drying apples can also be done in a lowest oven (as low as your oven will go, between 145-200F for about 10-20 hours).  Line baking sheet with parchment paper and fill with single layer of apples. You should keep checking the apples, rotate them, and keep the oven door open for more air circulation.

c) Over a Wood Stove
Suspend apple rings over wood stove - hang apple rings from thin wire, set up a dowel to hang apples on, or suspend a metal drying rack over the stove.  Again watch apples closely to see when they are done.

best applesauce (from foraged fruit)!

Apple season is upon us, the early apples at any rate.  Our old tree out back is FULL, just absolutely full this year with lovely little apples.  They are not pretty by store standards, but they are our free apples, a generous harvest that we gratefully accept each year from this old tree!  The apples taste tart with a slightly sweet tinge if you pick one that is perfectly ripe, but the squirrels seem to know and knock the apples down a day or two before they really are ready to be picked by us humans.  So, I've been gathering the apples from the ground, which really is so much easier than trying to climb up into that huge old tree.  These are just right for applesauce, a ritual we have around here starting every August and continuing on well into October, with any apples we can get our hands onto.  I love to imagine the members of the  who first planted this apple tree, also picking and making applesauce to keep their household well-stocked over the winter.  We love this applesauce on our pancakes, with yogurt and granola in the morning, or simply as a healthy snack.

How we make our applesauce with our gathered/foraged fruit - the simple method:

You need:
apples
water
large pot and lid
chopping knife
cutting board
dash of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pinch of nutmeg, cardamom, vanilla (optional, or try each one)

Method:
1) Core and chop apples, and cut away any parts that you think are overly ripe or blemished.
2) Place apple chunks (with peel on -this adds texture and colour to the sauce) into pot with a bit of water to cover the bottom.
3) Heat on medium with lid on to help steam the apples to soften them.  Stir occasionally.  Add more water so there is enough liquid that apples don't stick to bottom of the pot.
4) Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, or vanilla - optional, based on your taste.
5) When apples are softened you can leave the sauce chunky, or puree it in a food mill or food processor.
6) Ladle into glass mason jars leaving 1/2 inch space at top (minimum) and store in fridge or freezer.  This sauce can also be canned in hot water bath according to proper canning procedures.

Cozy fall breakfasts - Maple & Apple Baked Oatmeal

It's mid October and getting chilly around here!  We haven't had frost - yet... but the nights are cold and we've had the woodstove on a handful of times already in the past few weeks.  I even used a hot water bottle last night!  Mornings are especially chilly getting out from under the warm nest of blankets, and so, on the mornings when we need an extra special warm up we've taken to creating some cozy breakfasts in place of our regular yogurt and granola.  Since we are in southern Ontario, in peak of apple season and still enjoying the maple syrup of this year's harvest, we love to combine apples and maple into many of these warming breakfast dishes.

Cozy simple healthful and hearty breakfasts we love - and plan to have lots of this fall and winter.  These are some of the favourite ones we have served often in our B&B, and for our own family on chilly mornings:

~ warm quinoa with bananas, currents and maple syrup
~ warm oatmeal (oats soaked overnight) with apples, cranberries & cinnamon with organic cream
~ giant baked apple pancake (our favourite huge German pancake baked in the oven)
~ potato-greens frittata (with spinach, chard or kale, over fried potatoes, topped with eggs and cheddar)

And maple-apple baked oatmeal.  Here's the recipe:

Maple-Apple Baked Oatmeal
1/4 cup butter
2 cups whole oats
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup milk or rice/soy milk
1 large egg
1 large juicy apple (we like Empire) chopped or shredded
dash of cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts) and /or hemp seeds/sunflower seeds for the top
serve with organic cream, yogurt and/or maple syrup

1) Soak oats overnight in the milk to help provide optimum digestability.
2) Preheat oven to 350F. 
3) Add butter into large cast iron frying pan or baking dish and heat in oven until just melted.
4) Combine all the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir well.
5) Pour into cast iron pan or baking dish, smoothing the top. Sprinkle with chopped nuts/seeds.
6) Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes. 
7) Serve warm with organic cream, plain yogurt and more maple syrup as desired.

Enjoy a warm and cozy morning!

Wild apple bounty

The past few days have seen baskets and bins of apples piling up on our counters.  The wild apple harvest is on, and this year is proving to be an bountiful one.  We've taken to carrying extra bags with us everywhere we go, just in case we need to do some spontaneous foraging.  We, as a family, have gathered fruit from at least 10 different types of apple trees in various locations around town, all which are walkable or bikeable from our place.  There is such abundance hidden in the city, and I love sharing this experience with our daughter.  We often meet others who are also wild foraging, including a group yesterday who was picking wild apples for their annual cider-making event. 

I just love the different colours, textures and tastes - the red and white striped markings on the apples held in the hand below is especially pretty.  Our own big old apple tree is in it's fullest year yet.  Most of these apples we use for sauce, since they do have blemishes and are not long-keeping varieties - and occasionally there is a pie.  Mmmmmm, pie.   That makes today an exceptional day.

This Moment

{This moment} - This moment - an end of week ritual, no words, just a special photo to remember, savour, enjoy. 

Apple Tasting and Fate of the Heirloom Apples

We love apples - and this is apple season.  Inspite of damp, cold windy weather, we held our annual apple tasting today.  October is an unpredictable month, so when we were planning for this outdoor event months ago we were uncertain as to what the weather would hold.  We lit a nice big cozy fire in our cob oven, and, bundled up with mittens, hats and raincoats, plus a few extra quilts brought out from our house.  It was well worth it to get a taste of the 20+ varieties of apples on display!  And these 20 varieties are only a thin layer of the vast range of apples grown in our country, even though we rarely see more than a handful of options in the local grocery stores or farmers markets.

Our facilitator from Seeds of Diversity, talked about the history of each apple while passing around plates piled with slices to sample.  We tasted everything from the very familiar McIntosh, Red Delicious, Northern Spy, Cortland, and Empire; to the more unfamiliar Snow (possibly the first apple grown in Canada, originating around 1730), Tolman Sweet, Sandow, Greening, Golden Russet, and Wolf River; to the newly developed Honey Crisp (developed in 1991) and Ambrosia (developed in 1980's - actually a "chance" discovery in an orchard in British Columbia).  Some better for baking, some better for cider, some for long shelf life, some for little browning when cut, some with crisp white flesh, others with pink tinged flesh, and on it went.  Today there are about 100 varieties of apples commonly grown in North America.  According to Oregon Tilth, astonishingly historically there have been over 15,000-16,000 varieties of apples (yes, really!) named, grown and eaten in North America. Today roughly only 3000 are available to growers, gardeners, cooks, chefs, etc (and you need to search pretty hard to find them). Our amazingly rich diversity of heirloom apples is in danger of becoming extinct - an estimated 4 out of 5 apples have been lost to consumers and much of this has only been within the past fifty years.  It is estimated that 11 varieties of apples make up 90% of what is sold in big box grocery chain stores - the other varieties just don't ship well, keep well or display well enough for what the average consumer has been told the "perfect" apple needs to look like.  Read more about this topic at Slow Food USA: Year of the Heirloom Apple.

Apple Tasting

We've been trying different kinds of apples from the local farmers market, as well as from our own trees and wild foraged ones.  We've made applesauce, apple jelly, applebutter, apple pies, and of course kept lots of apples for fresh eating.  I love apple harvest season - there is such variety and abundance, colour, flavour, texture, history.  We'll be hosting the annual apple tasting event here in October, for those who live locally and want to come learn the stories of heirloom apples from our region.  Or look for apple festivals in your own area.

End of August days...garden, apple harvest, free ranging hens

Fruit processing - apples, blueberries, peaches...

This long weekend found us...collecting apples from our old "wild" apple tree, a tree which we are bringing back into production after many years of neglect.  Having pruned it well last year, it is now bearing tasty mid-sized fairly tart apples that are not only good enough for cider, pie and sauce, but not so bad for eating right off the tree as well!...plus, organic blueberries packed into the freezer for winter smoothies...and peaches for canning and a few that have already been made into rustic lattice-topped pies!