It’s been a busy, bountiful season harvesting apples from my sister’s trees and also gleaning for the hungry at some beautiful local orchards with After the Harvest. One of the harvest gleans was for my husband’s employees and their families. The orchard has close to 80 trees and the entire orchard is given to After the Harvest volunteers to glean for the hungry. The kids had a lot of fun at this one since they were able to master the apple picker. I’ve been busy working my way through the apples above, from my sister, making apple butter, spiced apple sauce, and apple cherry pies (with cherries from another sister). I have some links to apple recipes below + our favorite apple breakfast pie (adapted from a recipe given to me by my sister-in-law).
We also gleaned with our Families of Young Children group from our church. Over 1000 lbs of apples were picked that day to donate to local food pantries and our own parish food pantry, St. Vincent de Paul.
Clearly the apple picking tools were a big hit, especially after mastering how to use them.
Enjoying a favorite… collecting sticks and making caramel apples using this recipe from the Nourished Kitchen.
Since the weather has turned too beautiful to be indoors I moved the apple processing outside along with apple printing to keep Emma busy while I peel.
My new favorite way to enjoy apples is fresh homemade spiced applesauce mixed with a little goat milk kefir. Delicious!!
a little more apple inspiration below ….
Here’s a fun video showing a crockpot method for making applesauce. This is such a simple way of making applesauce (if you minus the coring, peeling, and cutting!). I broke down and invested in a food mill this year that has been invaluable for tomatoes and apple butter. Sometimes I make a batch of applesauce and leave some of the skins on, but for apple butter the food mill works fantastic. I have been doing a mixture of freezing in jars and water bath canning for the sauce and the butter.
For a variety of applesauces, try adding in a chinese five spice blend or a little zested ginger. If you have pears, try a combo sauce.
Here’s another great resource for water bath canning.
The following sites have some great apple recipe inspiration.
Infusing liquors is another way I like to preserve seasonal fruits. Blackberries, cherries, apples, and foraged persimmons work great for infusions. Here’s a great post about infusing liquors.
Another favorite … Gluten Free Spiced Apple Crisp
It’s always more fun to peel apples with friends!
Apple Breakfast Pie, gluten free, dairy free (adapted from my sister-in-law’s recipe)
This is similar to a dutch baby pancake but I like to make it ahead, double the recipe, and place it in the refrigerator overnight to marinate and bake in the morning + it makes the morning breakfast an easy one. I use a combination of almond flour and brown rice flour, but feel free to experiment with your own flour blend.
INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
3/4 c. canned coconut milk (or another non-dairy milk)
3 T. maple syrup
1/2 c. almond flour
1/4 c. brown rice flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. sea salt
1/4 c butter, melted
4 apples, peeled and sliced
DIRECTIONS
Mix together the eggs, milk, and maple syrup. Add in the flours, cinnamon and salt. Add in melted butter to the mixture. Place sliced apples in a pie plate coated with coconut oil. Now add the mixture on top of the apples. Cover with wrap and refrigerate overnight.
(if you’re doubling the recipe just use 2 pie plates and divide the amount of apples and mixture between them)
In the morning preheat the oven to 400 degrees. I take the apple pie out of the refrigerator while the oven is preheating. Bake for 25-30 min.
Drizzle with a little maple syrup or raw honey for serving.(optional).
Enjoy the beautiful Fall weather!
Julie
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