day seven hundred and thirteen

i'll be quick.

christian and i went apple-picking in sedro woolley (#63)! we headed up to jones creek farm, about an hour and a half northwest of seattle. unfortunately, because it was a cold year, their trees only came in at about fifty percent of their usual yield, and it was slim pickin's. but i left with seven pounds of apples, plenty to try a couple new recipes. christian left with twenty pounds.

it wasn't quite as nostalgic an experience as i anticipated given that my family went every year when i was a kid. actually one year we were told we were going apple picking but instead we went to get a puppy (pretty badass move, parents). but for whatever reason, this place didn't feel like it did back then. the trees were way smaller than i expected, maybe because of the poor season or maybe because i'm adult-sized now. but it was still great to get out of the city and do something new, so all in all we had a pleasant sunday afternoon.

we found this little oddity when we overshot the orchard by about thirty minutes into the mountains. christian demonstrates how to kick yourself.

this "haunted house" at the orchard was definitely scary, but probably not for the reasons the establishment was hoping for. i still didn't go in.

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with all those apples i had to try a couple fall recipes. apple sauce (duh) and my mom's apple crisp. the apple sauce woulda been great if i hadn't accidentally put a half tablespoon of cinnamon in instead of a half teaspoon like it called for - yowza! and the crisp was delicious, but i think i sliced the apples too thinly because they turned to a bit of a mush underneath the sweet crispy topping. lessons learned!

how to make the apple sauce:

you'll need four apples (peeled, cored and sliced), half cup water, fourth cup sugar, and a half teaspoon cinnamon.

step one: put apples and water in saucepan.

step two: cover and bring to a boil.

step three: uncover and boil on low for twenty minutes, occasionally stirring.

step four: stir in sugar and cook until it dissolves.

step five: add cinnamon.

how to make my mom's apple crisp:

you'll need six apples (peeled, sliced), one tablespoon lemon juice, one tablespoon water, three-fourths cup firmly packed brown sugar, half cup flour, half cup rolled oats, one teaspoon cinnamon, and a half cup of butter.

step one: preheat oven to three hundred and seventy-five degrees.

step two: place apples in a nine-inch square pan, and sprinkle with lemon juice and water.

step three: combine brown sugar, flour, oats and cinnamon.

step four: "cut in" the butter until crumbly, and sprinkle over the apples.

step five: bake forty minutes or until apples are tender.

christian and i had a crisp-off with the apples we each picked. mine's on the right (the MORE EATEN one).

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finally, i volunteered for four hours at the PAWS facility up in lynnwood, trimming back overgrowth along their wildlife trails (#91). no pictures from that one, but i've got several witnesses. we got to meet the dogs and cats up for adoption afterwards, and it was more heartbreaking than i thought it would be. man, i want a dog. that's about all i have to say about that.

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