Hello and welcome to another post on Boone Appétit. Hopefully since the start of Strawberry season you’ve been visiting farmers markets and buying fresh local produce. Now many of the fruits and vegetables are winding down, but as the weather takes a noticeable cooler turn, apples and pumpkins are abundant. With over 2500 known varieties grown in America I’m sure there’s an apple for you! Granted we don’t see a huge variety in our supermarkets but you can usually find a couple rare varieties at your local farmer’s market or pick your own farm. Recently on a trip to Ithica, Ny I came across the Gravenstein apple that was brought to this country from the Netherlands in 1680. I have a thing for apples so I’m always excited to try one I’ve never had before. Here in Rockland County we’re very lucky to have a few pick your own farms. On this day I went to Dr. Davies Farm in Congers and The Orchards Of Conklin in Pamona. A simple internet search will give you another dozen or so farms with a 30-45 minute drive. I wrote a post on one of my favorite pick your own farms here.
I don’t usually go to our local places since they tend to be incredibly crowded because of Rockland’s close proximity to New York City. Dr. Davies is open for picking during the week so if you can do it then you’ll have a better experience. At the farm you will also find a food truck curtesy of Finks BBQ, Hay rides, fresh apple cider donuts, a variety of fruits and vegetables, and of course Dr. Davies Apple cider. Their cider won our taste test a couple years back and the quality is still there today. Dr. Davis use to have a little country store off of 9W and I hope they bring it back. It was a great way of getting all their produce and plants away from the hustle and bustle of the pick your own farm on Route 304. If you’re driving on 304 and passing the pick your own farm please slow down and look out for people, especially young children, crossing the street. The Orchards at Conklin also have a pick your own farm, but they only do it on weekends which as you’d expect creates large crowds. Apple picking places in general will have large crowds on weekends no matter where you go, so in my opinion it’s always best to go during the week at places that give you that option. Conklin’s has a country store that is open all year around. They also have a plant nursery where you can buy vegetable seedlings and plants of many varieties. If you don’t want to pick your apples Conklin’s sells their own fresh picked apples as well as a bakery and their own apple cider. During the week it’s a much more relaxed atmosphere and you really get that local country store vibe.
So now you’ve gone and picked a ton of apples and you’re wondering what am I going to do with all these apples? Luckily I’ve covered a few recipes for you in the past , here are the links. For apple crisp go here. Maybe you’d like to try making a very old recipe for apple cookies? You can find it here. Here’s a couple of super easy and yummy recipes for apple crumb pie and a vegan applesauce cake with cinnamon frosting! To make the applesauce cake non vegan replace the margarine with butter and egg replacer with 2 eggs. All of these recipes are easy to make and require a little time for the peeling and coring of the apples. You could buy an Amish apple peeler, corer ,slicer to make this work a breeze. I couldn’t get by without mine. One last easy thing to make is apple sauce. I find using a variety of different apples helps to bring out better flavors. I also like to keep the peels on for apple sauce but people complain about the peels being in the sauce, however, they love the flavor. I’ll leave that decision up to you. Here’s a yummy recipe for Cranberry Apple Sauce. If you just want to make apple sauce omit the cranberries and maybe add another apple or two. Warm apple sauce goes well on many dishes, give it a try!
I hope you get to your local farm or farmers market and take advantage of the wonderful Fall produce. Apples have so many uses and they actually are good for you. There’s something to the old saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” I’d really love it if you’d share a recipe you have for apples. Maybe you have a family recipe for apple pie or apple cider? If you’ve been to a pick your own farm in your area please let us know about in the box below, good or bad we’d love to hear your experience. As always if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the box below and I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible. Until next time, Boone Appétit!
