Apple Picking Szn

It isn’t fall if someone doesn’t say, “Let’s go apple picking!” And off we go to the orchard, baskets at the ready. Crisp delicious apples in tow, we arrive home with far too many to eat. Though, when we were picking them we thought, “for sure I’ll eat all of these!” So, what do we do?

Keep ‘Em Clean
Make sure you wash your apples thoroughly, even if you’re picking in an organic orchard, apples are still grown outdoors in dirt! Pay close attention near the stem where dirt and other pieces of the outdoors can accumulate. A veggie brush like our Ring is a great way to clean apples well while being gentle on the skin. 

All the Eats
The first fresh, straight-from-the-tree apple always hits the spot. And the second. Even the third. But by apple number four, we’re ready for something different.

We love an apple with peanut butter, it’s a delicious way to change up the snack without much work. It’s also an added source of protein!

On a brisk fall evening, nothing is cozier than baked apples – their aroma fills the house and warms more than just the kitchen.

We’re always in search of the perfect apple pie (let us know if you have a good recipe!)

And my oh my, there we never met a caramel apple we didn’t like.

Got 20 minutes? Try these quick apple turnovers.

When your apples have lost their crispness but they’re still looking good, they’re great for making applesauce.

Sad, they’ve gone bad.
Apples will turn, of course. And when that happens, we go zero waste. If they’re not mushy yet, consider using them for an art project by cutting them in half and dipping them in paint for print-making (the core gaps and seeds can make for really interesting patterns!). And of course, a mushy, mealy apple is your compost heap’s best friend. We collect our compost scraps in our Fresh Air, a permanent fixture with a small footprint. But if you’re new to composting or non-committal, you can do the same thing with our Scrap Sack, which is a disposable and compostable countertop collector.

And now, off to the pumpkin patch!
Pumpkins are a bit easier – we don’t come back home with quite as many and we’ve often got a mission for them. Same modus operandi, different foodstuff: clean well, zero waste their guts (sweet/salty pumpkin seeds are always a good idea), carve and glow or paint, and keep one approximately 2 lb pumpkin for fresh, delicious pumpkin pie. And of course, compost the rest.

Welcome to fall.