Friday, November 08, 2013

Dew drops on leaves

I know I've done this before, but this time it's an oak leaf, so it's different. N'est-ce pas ? The rain systems are still churning through, but we had a small break on Thursday. I was able to get out and get the remaining apples up off the ground. There only a few left on the trees, so the major apple clearing is done again for another year.

Dew drops on an oak leaf.

I saved some of the better looking apples and made some applesauce and an apple tart. The rest of the apples went into the compost pile. One of these days we'll have to look into getting a cider press. I'll have to do some research and figure out how that works and what we'd do with the juice, besides drink it.

We ate some of this week's applesauce with boudin noir (blood pudding). I also used some of it in the apple tart. A few weeks ago I made a bunch of applesauce for the freezer. It will be good for applesauce cakes and other uses through the winter.

9 comments:

  1. Cider is especially good when it gets fizzy. There are a lot of uses in cooking. Last night I made apple cider caramels, and some apple cider went into the mashed sweet potatoes.

    Our nephew rigged up a cider press out of who knows what. He's on his way to making Calvados. There's a project for you, Walt!

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    1. Apple cider caramels sound really interesting! Can you direct me to a recipe?

      Calvados would really be good! I enjoyed that when I visited Normandy but not since.

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  2. Fantastic closeup photo :)
    Vivent les pommes!

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  3. This oak leaf is perfection. Bravo !

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  4. Along with a cider press you'll need an apple crusher to chop the apples up. There's a company called Vigo (http://www.vigopresses.co.uk/default.aspx) who sell them and all manner of apple processing stuff (e.g. orchard ladders, dryers). Good but not cheap, second-hand kit on E-bay not much cheaper.. If you're interested, you may find people who will come in with you - us, for instance! P.

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  5. Your photos are just really striking, Walt! Merci!

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  6. I can't believe the clarity in your photos!

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  7. carolyn, I love fresh cider in the fall, a holdover from my youth in upstate NY.

    judy, our pommes are just about gone now. But we've had a good time with them!

    stuart, thanks!

    pauline, sounds like a lot of work, not to mention expense!

    mary, thank you!

    starman, I often want more. Depends on the picture. Sometimes I get lucky.

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  8. Mary, and for anyone who wants to make the apple cider caramels, the recipe is from the Smitten Kitchen website, and here's a link. You may want to reduce the salt. On the second day they had a more cidery taste; the first day they tasted citrusy.

    http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/10/apple-cider-caramels-the-book-is-here/

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