Enjoying Fall at the Apple Orchard

Today was a fun day, and specifically one of the reasons I became a SAHM again. My kindergartner's first field trip! We went to a local apple orchard where the kids got to see how they process the apples after picking, pick a few of their own apples, and visit the petting zoo.

The cost of this field trip was $6, which paid for their admission to the petting zoo and their 1/3 peck of apples. Not much, and my son had SO much fun, it was definitely worth it. He also really liked having mommy all to himself for a few hours.

After the kids left and went back to school, I went to the U-Pick portion of the farm, where they have apples for .79/lb or .59/lb if you buy 48 lbs. or more. Now, I would LOVE to get 48 pounds of apples, but there was no way I could carry them myself, so I ended up buying about 17 pounds. The apples I chose are called Mutsu apples, more commonly known as Crispins, which are a cross between Golden Delicious and the Indo apple from Japan. They haven't caught on in my area of the country yet, but are gaining!

These apples have a golden yellow skin with a very crisp and juicy flesh. They are slightly tart, but quite sweet. They are ideal for baking, processing, or eating. My plan is to make a couple of Apple Crisps, and I will also try my hand at homemade apple sauce and possibly even apple butter.