Last year, we took our first apple-picking trip since moving to St. Louis. The crops up here are great, and there are several local farms that let you pick your own. We had so much fun (and so many good apples) that we knew we had to do it again this year.
So on Saturday, Matt and I ventured to Centennial Farms in Augusta, about 45 minutes west of St. Louis. We tried Eckert's in Grafton, Illinois, last year, but this time we wanted to try a new location (and a smaller farm). Centennial was great!
Due to the hot summer, the crop's been a bit limited this year, but they had Golden Delicious and Empire apples ready, and we didn't have any trouble picking 30 pounds' worth!
Golden Delicious on the branch
Reach!
That was a big fella!
Apples peeking out from underneath the belly
Filling my first bag
Matt was a true gentleman and insisted on carrying all 30 pounds back to the barn.
Working the biceps
I feel like I have one of those pumpkins stuck to my front side...
Now, the cooking begins. This year, we know we're making an apple crisp and lots of applesauce (we're planning on canning most of it for Biscuit), but we have to brainstorm some more ideas (we have 30 pounds to get through, after all). The apple snack cake I made last year was awesome, so that'll probably be on the list, too, and Matt's mentioned wanting to make apple jelly.
Any other musts?
Oh, I just couldn't love the Schunkes anymore. You guys are awesome, and Biscuit will read this one day and know how much his parents loved him... so much that they hauled apples from the farm to make him fresh applesauce!! You & Matt are amazing. xoxox
ReplyDelete