Apple Picking

Apples, Pumpkins, and Donuts. Oh my! at Applecrest Farm, NH

October 22, 2015

What do they say about best laid plans?

Oh that’s right, they often get screwed up.

We had planned on going apple and pumpkin picking at Applecrest Farm with Price’s sister this past weekend. We went there last year, and had a blast, so we wanted to go again to get some more apples, pumpkins, and cider donuts.

Unfortunately, the day was much chillier than what would have been comfortable for apple picking. The temperature was okay, but the wind went right through ya! So we changed things up and checked out their large farm market instead

First, we bee-lined it to cider donuts stand for fresh donuts, which are my most favorite fall things ever. Autumn seemed to enjoy herself too!

Oh, hello.

Since we skipped the orchards, we got all our apples in their new Farm Market.

They were building it last year when we were visiting so it was fun to go back and see it completed. It is so charming with crates of fresh fruits and vegetables, a lot from their very own farm. As well as a selection of beer and wine, frozen prepared foods, and freshly baked goods. Rounding that all out is a healthy stocked refrigerated section, that includes fresh cider. It’s hard to find in the area, but they have raw cider, which is needed to make hard cider, so they are a great resource for home brewers.

There even is a Farm Bistro. Adorable. Timing wasn’t right for us to visit and try it out, but I’m really hoping to go back one day.

I love fall in New England.

We grabbed a lot of apples from our visit so I have plenty of apples to eat (Idared) and bake (Cortland) with. They cut a blue hubbard squash in half for us (to split with Catherine), which roasted up so very well! Plus, I grabbed day old cider donuts, that I used to make a bread pudding. That I then smothered with a lot of homemade apple cider caramel sauce. (recipe coming soon!)

Apples and pumpkins are still available for picking so be sure to check out Applecrest Farm this weekend!

Applecrest Farm

133 Exeter Road (Rt.88)

Hampton Falls, NH 03844

603.926.3721

Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Open Daily, Year-Round.

Apple and Peach Picking At Tougas Family Farm- Northboro, MA

September 8, 2015

This past weekend was really wonderful. Not just because it was Labor Day but because we to Tougas Family Farm in Northboro, MA.

We are moving to Florida next spring so I am determined to do as many Autumn related things here in New England. I really love the fall, but then my dreaded winter comes. So I’m soaking up every possible thing that we can do like apple picking, pumpkin picking, watching the Head of The Charles, go leaf peeping, and much, much more.

We kicked off the Autumn related activities with some apple picking. Thankfully, I found Tougas Family Farm, which also had peach and nectarine picking available. I couldn’t have asked for a better day as we were able to pick all 3 fruits.

As the farm is 45-60 minutes from Boston, we timed our departure with Autumn’s normal morning nap time. It worked out perfectly!

We arrived in great time just after it opened at 10am to get in line to purchase our box ($36 for a 1/2 bushel, approximately 20 pounds of fruit) that we would fill up with our treasures.

From there, we got in line for a short tractor pulled wagon ride to the fields. The first stop had 2 varieties of apples for picking, but everyone on a wagon opted to just go to the 2nd stop where there were apples, peaches, and nectarines available for picking.

I highly suggest some babywearing for apple picking.

It can be a lot of walking for little legs so babywearing helps you carry your kiddo while your arms are still free for picking and carrying around your box of fruit. Plus, then you don’t have to juggle with getting a stroller on and off the wagon.

We started with picking Ginger Golds which are great eating apples, as well as baking apples as they hold their shape well.

After picking some massive Ginger Golds, we headed up a few rows to get the New England Classic, the McIntosh. They are are great all around apple for eating and baking. They are great for pies and that is my #1 priority when it comes to apple picking as I love fall baking.

We started picking apples first as they are sturdier fruits compared to peaches and nectarines, so we filled the bottom of the box up with our apples first, to then place the peaches and nectarines on top of them.

Autumn loved picking the fruit with us. She was very delicate with them from picking them on the tree to putting them in the box. She would light up with each fruit picked.

Autumn ate plenty of fruit at the farm, but continued her attempt at eating our 1/2 bushel for the rest of the long weekend but walking over to the box on the counter to request a ‘beach!!’. After inhaling the sweet fruit, she would come to me with the pit, then sign for ‘more’ while saying ‘mas beach!!!’.

Tougas Family Farm has both White and Yellow peaches. Yellow are my favorite but you can’t go wrong with any fruit freshly picked from the tree.

Movin’ to the country,
gonna eat a lot of peaches.

They had ladders available to help you pick fruit that is out of arms reach. We though this was really helpful, as a lot of farms we’ve been do don’t offer ladders. This way we would easily could carefully reach a lot of sun ripened fruit. Plus, there is something extra fun about climbing a ladder to get a piece of fruit.

Autumn was very proud of the fruit she picked. She carried this peach around like a baby for a long time!

After we filled our box, we headed back to the farm via wagon ride, to put the box in the car and check out the farm animals and the farm store.

A quick stop at the large playground for some swing action and then we were were off to the farm.

The goats there are very friendly as kids, and adults alike, can feed the goats pellets ($1) directly from their hands. Autumn was basically freaked out by them, so she watched them cautiously in Price’s arms.

Price made fast friends with a goat who loved being rubbed on his head and back.

I tried very hard to convince this chicken that it wanted to come home with us, but as chicken as, she was very stubborn and refused all my offers.

The pig ignored me as well.

Lastly, we stopped by the farm store for some apple cider donuts.

They also had picked fruit, jams, and prepared foods available for take out and for picnicking while at the farm.

Apple cider donuts are my Achilles heel. And it appears that they are Autumn’s as well. I guess the saying is right, “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree!!!” She

Such a wonderful day together!!

Tougas Family Farm

246 Ball Street

Northboro, MA 01532

508.393.6406

Deep Dish Apple Pie with a Cheddar Rosemary Crust

October 3, 2014

I might have had this for breakfast. A slice. Not the whole pie.

And it was gooood. Dang good.

I had such high hopes to whip this pie up last week after we got home from our trip to Raleigh on Tuesday night but it was not in the cards. I was just so zonked after work both Wednesday and Thursday nights from playing catch up and then I was dragging myself out of bed in the morning (as usual) and then it was Friday morning… crap!! So I missed posting a pie recipe last week, which really, really bums me out. But I have to admit that if it means I’ve posted 50 pies instead of 52, I’m still okay with that. 50 pies… wow.

I used the apples from when we went apple picking last weekend with Price’s mom and sister in New Hampshire. It’s a fun activity but it meant more this year as it was Autumn’s first time. She certainly enjoyed herself as she bit right into her apple as it hung on the tree.

If you are going apple picking soon, or just picking up some apples while going grocery shopping, then I strongly suggest that you make a pie. A big deep dish pie. And one with cheddar cheese in the crust definitely doesn’t hurt.

Side note: I used to dread making crusts but now I really enjoy it. I’ve enjoyed all the pies I’ve made this year but my deminished fear related to crusts has been the best part of this whole thing. yay!

We all know that apples and cheddar are a great combination when we are snacking. BUT just because we want dessert we shouldn’t have to miss that combo. So I decided to make a pie using apples and cheddar. I know of some diners that will put a slice of cheddar on top of the slice of pie prior to warming it up when they serve it to you. That’s a fine way to get cheddar to snuggle up to your apple pie, but cheddar IN the crust is so much better than just being on it.

And since we have a rosemary bush on our itty bitty back deck I grabbed some of that to kick up the savory flavors. Kinda like a cheddar rosemary cracker. I think it adds a nice little elements to the crust and pie.

Deep Dish Apple Pie with a Cheddar Rosemary Crust

Makes 1 deep dish pie

Ingredients

For The Crust

2 1/2 Cups flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
6 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1/3- 1/2 cup ice water

For the Pie

4 1/2 pounds of granny smith apples
1/2 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/3 Cup flour
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Process

To make the crust, in the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, sugar, and the rosemary. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds. Add the grated cheese and pulse to combine.
With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; do not process for more than 30 seconds.
On a floured surface, gently work the dough together. Divide the dough into two equal balls. Flatten the balls and wrap them with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
While the dough is chilling, combine the sugars, flour, and cinnamon together in a small bowl, set aside.
Peel the apples in about 1 pound batches. Cut the apples into 4 pieces around the core, then slice each piece into 1/4″ thick slices. Add the slices to a large bowl and add some of the sugar mixture, mix well to coat all the pieces. Repeat with all of the apples.
Preheat oven to 400. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with wax paper.
Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. On a floured work surface, roll out one of the disks to be large enough to fit your deep dish pie dish. Place the pie dough in the dish and trim so there is an extra 1/2″ beyond the edge of the dish.
Scoop the apple pie filling into the pie plate. Leave any juices behind in the bowl. Top off the apples with a few small pieces of butter.
Roll out second pie crust to be large enough to cover the pie. Carefully lay the crust over the apples. Fold the top layer edge under the bottom edge, then pinch together around the pie. Cut 4 small slits around the pie and make a tiny cross slit at the top.
Place the pie on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for for 75-90 minutes or until crust is golden and apples are tender.
Place the pie on a cooking rack and allow to cool before slicing and serving. Store any remaining pie in an airtight container for up to several days.

Crust is adapted from Martha Stewart, Pie from I am a Honey Bee

Apple Picking at Applecrest Farm- Hampton Falls, NH

September 29, 2014

I’ve been looking forward to going apple picking for a while. It’s one of my favorite fall things to do. The leaves underfoot are crunchy and colorful, I love the smell in the air, and snagging an apple off the tree is one of the best things ever. Of course, after hot Apple cider donuts.

This year Price, Autumn, and I headed up to Hampton Falls in New Hampeshire to meet his sister and mom to go apple picking. We picked Applecrest Farm Orchards because it was local to his sister’s house and it had great reviews.

The 101 year old Applecrest has acres and acres of Pick-Your-Own apple and peach trees, raspberry bushes, and pumpkins. As well, fields of produce ranging from tomatoes to onions, brussel sprouts to green beans, and squash to lettuces that they sell in their on site store and CSA.

Autumn was quite smitten with the big pumpkins.

We milled around the Farm Market for a bit before meeting Catherine and Elaine to go apple picking. The overflowing bins of fresh produce were so enticing but we held our horses and decided to get it later so it wouldn’t just be sitting in the hot car on the bizzarely warm fall day.

It did feel super weird to go apple picking in shorts and a tank top!!

I mean, these caulifowers… come on! So cool!!

To get to the orchards where you are able to pick apples you have to take a short ride on a tractor pulled trolley/train system. The ride was great because you are able to view all the different fields where they grow their produce that they sell.

We were greeted by super friendly staff that went over the rules of apple picking (no damaging trees, no climbing on trees, etc) and how to pick (twist, twist, pull!).

It is there where you are provided with a peck or a 1/2 bussel bag that you use for the apples. Since we were dividing this up among the 3 of us we went with a 1/2 bushel for $30. Thankfully, they accept cash and debit cards there.

Yep, she bit right into an apple as it hung on the tree.

I held her up so everyone could take a picture of her reaching and grabbing an apple, but she took it a step further and pulled it right down to her mouth. Ha! She loves apples so it was so surprise but so dang cute.

I think Autumn did a great job apple picking her 1 apple. She ate it for the rest of the time that we were there in the orchard and even on the train ride back to the main farm.

Oh damn, I love her so much.

Price dropped the apples off at the car and then we did some shopping at the Farm Market to get some produce. We picked up some purple cauliflower, carrots (with tops that we fed to Bunny!!!!!!), 3 types of squash, bussel sprouts, and a few tother things. And of course, a gallon of fresh pressed cider. All for less than $30. Not too bad!!!

Applecrest is currently under construction as they are building a restuarant, which I can’t wait to visit. I image they would serve produce from their farm and local meats and seafood from the same sellers that they sell in their Farm Market. OMG, I’m drooling just thinking about it.

The only really bummer about Applecrest is that the apple cider donuts are sold in a seperate shop from the main farm that only takes cash. As someone who doesn’t carry cash ever (really, really) I was heartbroken that I couldn’t get an inapporiate amount of donuts to binge on. Thankfully, Price’s mom, Elaine, had some cash so we did get donuts but that cash only situtaion was a killer for me.

They offer their donuts in 3 versions: plain, sugar, and cinnamon and sugar coated. Obvioiusly, you skip the plain. We got the cinnamon and sugar coated donuts which were mesy and delightful.

Considering that we hadn’t yet had lunch we passed up enjoying local ice cream from the creamery, but we did check out the flavors, which all sounds amazing. They had a apple cider donut sundae… be still my heart. Plus, they make their own waffle cones. I tell you, that smell is intoxicating.

Catherine did get a lemonade and Price got an Arnold Palmer. I skipped stealing a sip from Price since I think lemonade is ew.

It was such a wonderful time. I am going to enjoy making a pie tonight and some some crisps and breads this week from the apples we picked. I can’t wait!

And these babies were across the road from the parking lot. Beauties.

____________________

Applecrest Farm Orchards

133 Exeter Road (Rt.88)

Hampton Falls, NH 03844

603.926.3721

Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Farm Market is Open Daily, May through December.

Apple picking at Cider Hill Farm

October 29, 2013

I know, I know… It’s a bit late in the season to post about apple picking but I couldn’t resist sharing these pictures from when we went apple picking a few weeks ago. Plus things are still great in some orchards so don’t think you’ve missed your chance just yet!!

We try to go to different orchards every year to experience something new and see which ones we like the best. Price found Cider Hill Farm in Amesbury, MA so we headed up there for a bit of apple picking.

Once you grab a bag for the apples you are ready to go! They give out a handy guide to inform you about each variety, such as what they tasted like, and where each apple is in the several orchards. As well, we were told which apples were best to harvest now and where they were in the orchards, just to help us out.

I feel that the info could be improved to help you pick which apple you would want for what use. We always go to the orchards to get apples that are great for eating and baking with since I’m not one to really make sauce. So we ended up pulling up info on our phones as we walked around the orchards. (As well, this guide is really helpful!)

Could not get over the hanging baskets. Just look how big they are compared to the pumpkins!

Rows upon rows of apples fresh for the picking!

We wandered around the long rows picking apples at the tips of our finger tips. There is just something so fun about squishing yourself in the branches and just grabbing hold of a fresh shiny apple!

Autumn is just so beautiful.

ahh bliss! These were fresh from the frier and so dang good. They were airy, flavorful, and the perfect consistency for apple cider donuts. We got a dozen because we get them 1x a year and I figured eating 6 was reasonable…

For the 2013 season the price for apples is $1.85/lb and pumpkins are $.59/lb.

Cider Hill Farm

45 Fern Ave

Amesbury, MA 01913

(978) 388-5525

10.4-6: Weekend Recap

October 7, 2013

{Friday Night} leave work early at 2.30 with Price | get take out from Crown Fried Chicken for lunch/dinner | naps | watch Scandal | Price set up the Wii & watched Breaking Bad episodes | went to bed early

{Saturday} oatmeal for breakast | lounge around | get ready for apple picking | Sonic | apple picking at Cider Hill Farm | shopping at Carter’s and Khol’s | Hannaford for grocery shopping | take out from Prince’s Pizzeria | pizza for dinner | Price made dough for beignets | blogging & picture editing | bed

{Sunday} up early | news | meet Finely (Kemper’s cousin) at Revere Beach for some puppy play time | Price made beignets | lounge and nap on and off until 4pm while watching football & NASCAR | dishes and laundry | made our first Blue Apron dinner | clean tub & upstairs bathroom while Price cleaned the rabbits’ cage | watch Grey’s | shower | bed

pizza

Apple Picking At Russell Orchard in Ispwich, MA

September 28, 2012

Two weeknds ago I went apple picking with some coworkers and had a fantastic time together getting bags full of apples. We went up to Russell Orchards in Ispwich as it is one of the closest places to go apple picking around Boston. It was my first time going there for apple picking (Price and I had been there for berry picking years ago). The day was beautiful and we had so much fun picking bags of varieties of apples.

Prior to my friends’ arrival I took part in a wine & cider tasting in their general store from their own winery. For $5 I sampled 2 hard ciders, 2 fruit wines, and received a branded glass. They sample different ciders and wines (11% alcohol)every week. This week they sampled their Apple Cider, Perry, Jostaberry, and Dry Blueberry.

Apple Cider- “A very sweet and fruity dessert cider, great with apple pie” … This was very enjoyable. I liked the sweet subtle flavor.

Perry- “A slightly sweet hard pear drink” … I wouldn’t have even guessed this was pear. It was lovely but was not very fruity, esp pear like.

Jostaberry- “The berry is a cross between the gooseberry and the black currant. This wine has a tart, fruity taste.” … I loved this red fruit wine. It was tart but not pucker inducing. I liked the flavors, specifically the currant flavor,

Dry Blueberry- “Similar to the Blueberry, except this wine is aged in French oak. Bold like a Cabernet with a subtle berry flavor” … I didn’t finish my sample of this, neither did the 2 women next to me. They must not have been a fan of the smokey flavor. Had it been described as smokey I would have not had it as I for like smokey flavors, esp wine. If you like very dry and smokey then this is a great wine for you.

I’m glad my coworker picked Russell Orchard as it was convenient to get to, packed full of apples, and was a beautiful place.

Beautiful, beautiful apples.

It’s hard to go wrong with acres of apples, but they organize their PYO (pick your own) fields well. Everything was labeled with clear signs on each end of the row. Having gone to other orchards that just use flags as boundaries I found that Russell’s fields were very easy to navigate.

The fields are a short walk from the entrance so they offer hayrides to get to and from the fields. We deicded not to do this as the lines was l-o-n-g but it looked like a lot of fun. Personally, I think you should walk to the fields and take the hayride back after you (and your kids) are tired from walking around and carring a bag of apples.

For $15 you get a peck sized bag, which holds about 10-12 lbs of apples. I wanted a wheel barrel full but that was not an option nor, I assume, in my budget. I stuck with only picking apples that were good for baking, which were Cortland, Empire, Jonagold, and Honeycrisp. Their chart was helpful for picking which apples were best for baking, sauce, dessert (eating??), and juice. Their site says that it is cash only for weekends and Monday holidays but they did accept debit cards by the general store. You just need to buy your bag there at the store instead of getting it at the orchards

Before we left I got a loaf of cinnamon bread that we enjoyed for breakfast the following week. While there were long lines for their cider donuts I did not get any. I much prefer cider donuts that are coated in cinnamon and sugar while they are fresh from the fryer. Russell makes a plain donut and I just can’t justify the calories on something I don’t love.

I think this is great orchard to visit in the summer for berry picking and in the fall for apple picking. Don’t miss out on picking local fruit at the peak of season!

Gotta go get a pumpkin next, dontcha think?

____________________

Russell Orchards

143 Argilla Road

Ipswich, MA

(978) 356-5366

open 9-6 daily

Apple Picking at Mack’s Apples

October 19, 2011

I love apple picking. I really do. I remember this one time when my mom took my dad brand new WHITE Acura and took us apple picking. Well it got suck in the mud. Ruh-Roh! Even with a car wash there was still evidence that car was filthy from our muddy shoes. Needless to say that my dad was less than excited when we got home. Ha!

Well, thankfully my recent apple picking trip did not involve any stuck cars or really messy shoes. Instead we had a great time at Mack’s Apples in Londonderry, NH. I had sent out a tweet asking for some suggestions for places to go to that is a quick drive from Boston. Rachel (Baked by Rachel) responded by telling me about the great time she just had at Mack’s Apples. Then she posted a blog post about it and I was hooked.

Outside of the Farm Market, they had wooden bins of pumpkins and squash, as well as pallets of autumnal flowers.

This “Know Your Apples” chart was very helpful. I took a photo of it just so that I could remember which were the best apples to get for baking pies.

The Farm Market is opened a bit earlier than the U-Pick fields so we wandered around the store looking at all the different books, plates, jams, fruit butters, pickles, and decorations that were available for purchase.

While Mack’s doesn’t make their own cider donuts WITH sugar, they have donuts on hand that they have some brought in from the Chichester Country Store. We picked up a pack of them because cider donuts without sugar are just plain old boring.

The Honeycrisp… it seems to be the ‘it’ apple in recent years. Look how big these beauties are!

Breakfast of champions… splitting a chocolate and a pumpkin whoopie pie that we picked up from a school fundraising table.

The directory outside the store explaining which U-Pick field had which apples directed us to U-Pick Field #3. We went there because we wanted to focus on getting baking apples and this field had a large variety of apples that suited our needs.

U-Pick Field #3 is really 2 fields on either side of a road. We parked on one side and headed over to the farm stand that was set up. We wandered around that field for a while with little success since most of the apples had been picked over and the remaining ones were too high, even for Price to reach. Thankfully, when I went over to ask the woman working there a question about squash blossoms I overheard her telling another family that the field across the street had JUST opened so there would be a lot of apples there. So I hurried back to Price and told him the good news.

The other field was PACKED with apples. We were able to wander around while having a lot of options at our finger tips. I really appreciated that they stagger the opening of fields so that fields are not picked clean so early in the season.

The only real criticism we had of Mack’s was that the steaks at the end of the aisles indicating the type of apples were not really labeled. There were plenty of markers but not all of them were actually labeled. We wanted only baking/pie apples so we did not want to pick anything that was more for sauce or salads so the selection was very important to us. We would have to walk to the front of the orchard to see what each aisle was labeled and then to continue back down them looking for apples. I think that if they were to improve their signage it would make for a much easier apple picking experience.

We sampled some of the different varieties of apples that in U-Pick field #3. All here delicious and sooo fresh. You can’t beat an apple that you just pull off the tree and then bite into.

I’m not always such a smirky jerk… the sun was in my face.

We highly suggest going to Mack’s if you are around Boston or the border of New Hampshire. It was a large beautiful place that was very affordable. The selection of apples allows for the opportinuty to be able to pick ones that will use your needs.

Mack’s Apples

603-434-7619

230 Mammoth Road
Londonderry, NH 03053