Autumn Means Apples!

Michigan is the nation's 3nd apple producing state, behind Washington and New York. Apples are the state's largest fruit crop and annual harvests are around 780 million pounds. So it's no wonder that come autumn, you hear a lot about apple cider, cider doughnuts and the farmers at the market have bushels full of all kinds of varieties. I favor the Honeycrisp but I've come to also really like the Northern Spy (great for baking) and the Macintosh (even has a computer named after it!). A few weeks back we went to a nearby U-Pick Apple farm in Charlotte (about a 20 minute drive northeast). I had visions of getting some apron-type thing so I could climb ladders and put the apples in the pockets . . .but yeah, not quite. We stayed grounded and they gave us an apple picker (long stick with a basket on the end, with prongs to grab the apple and nothing else) and a plastic bag! Available that weekend were Northern Spy, Macoun (one parent of a Honeycrisp!), Empire and Ida Reds. We picked them all and ended up with full bag (maybe a "peck"? definitely not a bushel, which is 48 lbs.) and have since had apple torte, apple cake, applesauce, baked apples. . . and I have recipes for apple pancakes and some savory entree that includes sausage and potatoes. And maybe apple butter. . .for Christmas gifts!

Oh and apologies, pizza crust post coming soon (thanks for the reminder, ernest). It's been sitting in draft for a bit and you'll soon see why.