I was sick recently. When it’s a head cold, I like frozen fruit. This was not a head cold, but even if it were, I would not have eaten these frozen apples.
Tag Archives: apple
Giving Thanks – November 28
Happy Thanksgiving!
I give thanks for an abundance after a year of scarcity. The bad news is that the year 2012 was the worst year in many decades for fruit farmers in Michigan. The good news is that 2013 has offered the best crop Michigan has seen in many decades. It is not only a year of solid income for fruit farmers across the nation, but a tasty one!
May you have all you need to survive and flourish … every year!
New Taste!
Although I was born and raised in an apple orchard, apples are far from my favorite fruit. The one fruit that is more than plentiful three months a year in my own backyard is very low on my list of desired foods. Banana, strawberry, raspberry, peach, pear, plum, blackberry, nectarine, watermelon, honeydew melon, kiwi, pomegranate, blueberry, and prickly pear all come long before apple in my list of favorite fruits.
To further add to the apple thing, I only like them sweet. I have not felt that any of the early apples (September through early October) were sweet enough. Or, as my father’s father would say, low acid (a sweet apple is just lower in acid, but supposedly not an increase in sugar). That new fangled apple they call Honey Crisp, I don’t get it. I don’t find it sweet. It doesn’t have the delightful flavor (as apples go) of a Golden Delicious or Mutzu or even an early Red Delicious.
However, this year, I found an apple that is both early in the season AND sweet. Talhman Sweet. I’m sold!
Moral of the Story: Things change. Do you? Or do things remain the same, and you’re willing to give them a try … anyway?
Talhman Sweet Apples
Uh-oh, I’m Late!
My brother’s apple orchard is open and selling fruit. However, he has this lazy sister who hasn’t yet updated his website. I feel so bad that he has such a lousy sister!
So, here’s what his apples were selling for five years ago. We shall see what the Greenings are going for this year at his stand. This is why I say it’s okay to nag me to get things done, especially anything away from the office. I have plenty of reminders there, but never enough for my life outside of work. So, if you go to his website and see there’s no listing of his current pickings, don’t hesitate to remind me I’m falling down on one of my volunteer jobs.
Bruce Bourner’s Orchard: www.faithandfarm.com/bournersorchard.html.
Golden Flavor
This photo was taken way back in October of 2009. That was another great year for apples. A bit too much of a good thing based on this image of a weighed down branch from a Golden Delicious apple tree. No matter the size, the taste is worth more than its weight in gold!
Although Michigan apples are edible in September, many varieties are not available until October. One of these is the Golden Delicious. There is a fun children’s story about how these came to be. A copy is available at the Kalamazoo Public Library, titled Golden Delicious: A Cinderella Apple Story by Anna Egan Smucker with illustrator Kathleen Kemly.
Over the years my taste in apples (and food in general) has changed. As a child, I preferred the Red Delicious apples. Here’s a story about that from Kindergarten:
“What’s your favorite apple?” said the little boy.
“Red Delicious,” said I.
“No, I mean your favorite type of apple,” said the little boy.
“Red Delicious,” said I.
“No, I know they are all red, but what kind do you like?” said the little boy.
“They are not all red. My favorite is Red Delicious.” said I.
“NO! There are many kinds. What is your favorite?” said the little boy.
“My favorite is Red Delicious. What is your favorite?” said I.
“I don’t know what kinds there are,” said the little boy.
“Well, some that my brother sells are Golden Delicious, it’s yellow; Greenings, those are green; and here are a few reds: MacIntosh, Red Delicious, Northern Spy, Courtland, Winesap, Paula Red, Snow, …”
He never questioned my knowledge of fruit or farming again.
Looking Around
I hear talk and read articles repeatedly lately about the importance of looking ahead, keeping your eye on the future, moving forward, etc. That can be good advice in some cases. However, I like to eat tasty food and take remarkable photos. For both photography and the harvesting of most of our foods, it’s important to look all around.
In photography, you may be concentrating on the gorgeous scene before your eyes and taking photos, but you might be startled by the beauty that lies behind you as well. If you are only looking forward, you miss the opportunity behind you.
In harvesting apples, one usually returns to each tree three times. Fruit on a tree ripens top down and outside in. If you only pick once, you’ll have ripe fruit, semi-ripe fruit, and not even remotely edible fruit. If you pick from the top and down the first time, you’ll get the most delicious fruit. If you go back to that tree and pick what remains on the outside, you’ll again enjoy delicious treats. Lastly, if you go back a third time, you will be able to pick what remains inside and know the fabulous taste of worthwhile labor.
Looking ahead is good, but looking all around is unequivocably delicious, and most photographers have documented proof.
Last Spring
Here’s an image from last year April. The buds will not be this far in bloom before the end of April this year.
That is a good thing.
This year, the buds are arriving slowly and on time.
That is a good thing.
This year, the weather is warming slowly and over time.
That is a good thing.
So long as the rest of the year is calm and kind, we’ll have apples, peaches, pears, and plums in the autumn.
That is a delicious thing!
Morale of the Story: Good things are worth the wait.
Not Even in the Meatloaf
I was raised on the family farm. This farm included dairy cows, pigs, apples, and peaches. What a wonderful place to learn of life’s sorrows and joys, hard work and festive play.
One such joy is the food on the farm. Well, it’s also a sorrow – because I don’t enjoy gardening nor preparing my own meat. Fortunately, mom took care of the gardening after I repeatedly pulled out all of the carrots while weeding. Also, dad sent the cows and pigs to a local meat processor so it came back in nice little packages for the freezer.
It was delightful to grow up on our own beef, pork, veggies, milk, peaches, and apples. All were deliciously prepared by my mom’s loving hands after being nurtured by my father and brother.
Eventually, as is common in Michigan, the deer in our area became too numerous, and hunting needed to be done. The deer were eating the crops – both for cow feed and my brothers fruit trees. In being thankful for the opportunity to hunt on our land, hunters would give us the gift of deer meet.
This is where the problem comes in. I was raised on home-grown cow. The meat is smooth and tasty. Not grainy like liver can be. To me deer meat is grainy. Also, it’s raised more on corn and wheat. Not as much hay. That makes it more gamey.
All others in our house enjoyed deer meat. Well, so far as I can tell, they like ALL meat. But this is about deer. So my mom tried to hide it.
Let’s just say that I can taste it and find the texture of it even in meatloaf that is 1/3 sausage, 1/3 cow burger, and 1/3 deer burger. I can detect the undesirable texture in well seasoned spaghetti or lasagna. I can identify it in potent chili. There’s no disguise that worked. To me, it’s not palatable.
If you like it, you’re always welcome to my portion. Please!
Morale of the Story: Sometimes you just can’t hide anything.
Humor Happens 