Late September marked the annual apple harvest and cider pressing party at my family orchard. We missed the Gravenstein and Johnathan apples this year, but Golden Delicious, Rome, and Mare were all still in abundance!
We shook the trees relentlessly and watched as the ripe fruit fell to the ground. Then we swooped them up, gave them a rinse, and it was on to the cider press.
It's important not to drink too much apple juice straight off of the press or you will get a belly ache. Instead, the juice should be allowed to sit for 24 hours.
We made off like bandits after pressing the whole day through. Each bottle was labeled so we knew what apple blends we had and that way we can later decide whether we want to make the same blends in future years.
My dad caught a bunch of lingcod over the past month so Martijn, Nicholas, and I beer battered and fried it up to serve alongside the carnitas my mom made. The surf n' turf taco spread was so awesome that I forgot to even snap a photo... finger lickin' good!
My mom also made three apple cakes with apples I picked in the southeast corner of the orchard.
The next morning my mom made her famous biscuits and my dad fried up some bacon and eggs. We were all smiles!
Oh yeah! I totally forgot! The night before the apple harvest I took Diane on her first kayak adventure. We paddled into the darkness to see the bioluminescence in the bay and enjoyed some outstanding shooting stars by boat before pitching a tent on the seashore!
It was a pretty fantastic weekend!
Well, gotta go salmon fishing!
Keep the old ways alive!
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