Apple Season

It's almost October, which means two things:

1. It's apple-picking season—get thee to an orchard!! and

2. Time to get your copy of WINTERSWEET down from the highest shelf and start making baked caramel apples, ginger apple cake, and apple walnut bread pudding with cinnamon-cider sauce.

Contrary to the title, my cookbook isn't just for the winter. It's for the fall, too, starting with apples and gradually including pears, cranberries, pumpkins, squash, and all those gnarly root vegetables people don't know what to do with. If you're just joining us and you'd like your own copy, here are some local farms and orchards that have apples AND a stack of signed cookbooks. So you can have your apple cake and eat it too:

Carver Hill Orchard, 101 Brookside Ave., Stow: The orchard is open for pick-your-own apples, and their cider is out of this world. I've been going here for years, and I've always walked away with a smile on my face. They have cider doughnuts, too. Tell Cindy I said hi.

Bolton Spring Farm, 149 Main St. (Rt. 117), Bolton: Pick your own apples and then grab anything else you need at the quaint country store.

Marble Hill Farm, 29 Great Rd. (Rt. 117), Stow: Fruits, veggies, flowers, and all manner of pies are available at this cute little farmstand along Rt. 117. Kids will enjoy the goats, sheep, and alpacas right behind it.

Verrill Farm, 11 Wheeler Rd., Concord: Same deal. Shop. Drop. Repeat.

Moody St. Deli, 468 Moody St., Waltham: OK, this isn't a farm and they don't have apples, but they do have pastured pork lard for pie-making. Go grab yourself a Cuban sandwich and some provisions for the week (cheese, olives, soup, insanely delicious sausages, etc.) It's worth the trip, my friends, even if you don't need another damned copy of my book!

Comments

[Colleen]

I shall do so at once--starting with the ginger apple cake! Yum!

[Becki]

Oh yeah! I've got my copy of Wintersweet out now! Last winter I made the Ginger Apple Crumb Cake and loved it - let's do that again!

We were at Bolton Spring Farm last week. Bought a half peck of MacIntosh apples and stowed them in our luggage when we flew home. Husband maintains you can't get 'good MacIntosh apples' here in the Northwest.

I grew up eating apples grown in the West, and I have my favorites. I'm happy to go on MacIntosh-finding expeditions though - there's always great stuff besides apples at the farm stands. Happy fall to you!