Mission Accomplished

Mission Accomplished

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The gratitude continues. Thanks to Phil, lead guitarist for Sack of Yams and fellow apple enthusiast, we got the heads up that our orchard of choice was overrun with Thanksgiving Day pickers. Good for the apple growers, bad for impatient people like me. Unwilling to face the long line ups, we implemented Plan B.

The above photo was taken at William’s Orchards just outside Milton. This tree is laden with Golden Delicious apples, but we also picked Mutsu, McIntosh and Empires. Our bag was full before we got to the Ida Reds. Maybe next year.

Since I showed you a picture of Allison yesterday, here’s an orchard shot of my other sister, Robin. She’s such a hard worker, I don’t want her to feel left out.

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Normally, this would be proof enough of our adventures, but fellow foodie and frequent commenter, Cheryl, says she’ll believe it when she sees the pie. Well, Cheryl, here it is.

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These are the pies that graced our Thanksgiving dinner table. In the front is tart and intense Concord grape pie. Back left is the classic pumpkin pie, made by my niece. And the apple pie is on the far right. Too perfect for words, right?

Wrong.

We celebrated on Sunday before apple picking. All I had in the house were three huge Honeycrisp apples, so I used them — because you have to have apple pie on Thanksgiving. Notice I didn’t say you have to have good apple pie. While these rock-hard apples are wonderful for munching as is, they are not ideal for pie. By the time the crust is done and the topping is golden, they’re still half cooked. Of course, I learned this the hard way.

Regardless, I’m thankful we got to go apple picking on the warmest, most pleasant day of the fall. I’m thankful Allison carried the 20 pound bag of our harvest bounty so I could take photos. I’m thankful I don’t look like this…

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Ah, autumn in Ontario. Even undercooked pie can’t put a damper on this.

No Comments
  • jodi
    Posted at 10:46h, 14 October

    Interesting choices of apples, Charmian. We currently have old-fashioned Gravensteins and Galas in the house, the Cox Orange are picked but I won’t go get any for at least a few more weeks, and I wouldn’t touch a Mac with a ten foot apple ladder.
    Apples are such personal things for some of us, but others just want red and shiny, don’t they? I don’t personally care much for Honeycrisp BUT I love that some are getting into them who otherwise knew maybe one type of apple (Delicious) and of course our farmers get top dollar for Honeycrisp. But they aren’t really good (IMO) until February, after they’ve had some time to mellow. And they’re never much for cooking with.
    Glad you had a happy Thanksgiving!

  • Christie's Corner
    Posted at 10:55h, 14 October

    Hi Jodi,

    Shiny and red is fine for photos, but I want flavour when I bite into an apple.

    I had never had Honeycrisp before and liked their crunch. I really need to try more apples and was limited to what the orchard offered. No complaints. I like experimenting.

    I’m a huge Mac fan, but only early in the season when they’re still crisp. Once they go soft, they’re only good for apple sauce.

    Must try a Cox Orange! The name alone sounds delicious (which is one apple variety I can’t stand!)

  • Lisa magicsprinkles
    Posted at 11:44h, 14 October

    I’d never even heard of Honeycrisp until this past weekend. They are huge and extra firm apples. Oh so delicious. Loved your photos and Happy Thanksgiving.

  • Christie's Corner
    Posted at 11:53h, 14 October

    Lisa, I had never heard of Honeycrisp either until about 2 weeks ago. Apparently they’ve been around for more than a decade. Where’ve I been? Must have had my head stuck in a basket of Empires.

    Thanks for the holiday wishes. We had a lot of fun.

  • Cheryl
    Posted at 12:06h, 14 October

    Okay, okay, you proved your ability to follow through on a promise. And those pies do look beautiful. Now as for the hard apple situation, I’ve been there myself. If there’s any left maybe you could scoop it into a bowl and microwave the hell out of it…?

  • Dana McCauley
    Posted at 16:15h, 14 October

    Wow, the apple pie gods were against you.

    I think Honeycrisp were new in the wide grocery world last year. I remember getting a PR kit about them last year or the year before at the earliest. As I learned about pears recently, it takes about 7 years for a new variety of tree fruit to hit wide distribution due to the time it takes the orchard to mature.

  • Anonymous
    Posted at 17:39h, 14 October

    Dear Charmian,
    I loved the picture of me. It is actually the best I’ve had taken in a long time. Please keep up the good work. You can use pictures of me on the blog everytime they are composed to avoid the face.
    Laura refused the fresh picked apple you sent her. She said fresh apples are “too hard”. Go figure.
    Love, Robin