Friday, October 12, 2007

Apple Picking & German Apple Cake

It's Fall, and we felt the calling to go pick apples, so we headed to Emmett, and followed the signs. At first, we thought we were at the same place as last year, but wound up finding another delightful orchard. Wee King's Orchard (2955 W. South Slope Road 398-8047) is an acronym of their 3 children's names and their last. They saw the property online, and sight unseen moved here from Monterey California. They thought it'd be fun to run an orchard, and found that it is, plus lots of hard work. They love it!


Here's their seasonal line-up:

Cherries in June
Apricots in July
30 varieties of Apples Aug/Oct
Empress Plums in September
Italian Prunes during September







Apple break! Picking apples makes you hungry and we were pleased to be lost in the Fuji section.

We also picked up pie pumpkins and ornamental gourds from their produce stand. Our city girls enjoyed running through the orchards, chasing a cat, and exploring their garden as we exchanged stories with the owners. It was a lovely day.




The apples we didn't eat fresh went into this '
German Apple Cake' from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I had four apple recipes in mind from this book and this was a great choice! Art and I ate the entire thing over the next couple days and didn't feel one bit guilty! :)

Hey, anybody going to the upcoming Vegan Holiday Festival in Portland? You could hear Brendan Brazier, or dish it up with Julie Hasson! Among the exhibitors will be Food Fight!, VegNews Mag, & Herbivore. Sounds like an awesome event!

15 comments:

Elizabeth said...

Wow, I hadn't heard of it! I guess the Vegfest was such a hit that they decided a second one was a good idea. Are you planning to go? If we can make it, I'd love to meet you.

Lisa S. said...

Hi! I just stumbled on your blog through Colleen's compassionate cooks. Yeah, the Joy of Vegan Baking is out of this world!! I've already made the chocolate brownies & the waffles I. Yumm..... even my picky-eater-son loved the waffles. Although he saw the flax seeds & asked "why is my waffle all dirty?" LOL!!

I don't have time to comment on every single entry you have here on the front page, but I've enjoyed reading & hearing about your cooking adventures!

I just recently made the jump from vegetarian to vegan & find it exciting to cook & experiment in the kitchen.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Apple-picking is one of my favorite autumn activities - nothing beats eating a fresh, in-season apple :0)

30 varieties of apples available? Incredible!! Sounds like you made a great decision, going to the Wee King's Orchard (how lucky that you found it!)

aww, I love the video of your daughters running through the orchards - so cute! :0)

wow, that German Apple Cake definitely looks like the perfect way to eat apples (aside from my favorite way: freshly picked from an orchard!)

too bad I won't be anywhere near Portland - I've LOVE to go to that Vegan Holiday Festival!!

Aurelie said...

Apple picking is always fun!

Teresa said...

Wow, apple picking looks like so much fun, especially with all the different varieties. I definitely have to put this on my "to do" list (that exists in my head). Endless orchards and green fields sounds like heaven. And you're girls are too cute running around!

Speaking of events, any chance you are coming to SF for the Green Festival. If you haven't heard of it, I think you would really enjoy it. Check out http://greenfestivals.org/. And don't forget that SF is the home of Maggie Mudds!!!

Have an awesome time in Portland!

urban vegan said...

Your kids are havving such a blessed childhood--you & Art are such fab parents.

My copy of TJOVB just arrived, and one of the first recipes that caught my eye was that cake. I have got to try it. It sure presents, well, too.

Theresa said...

That cake looks delicious. Apple picking is one thing I miss about living in the tropics. I could probably go mango picking or lychee picking, but there is something special about apple picking, and those (probably not vegan) donuts, and cider, and apple cakes that result.

aTxVegn said...

The orchard is so beautiful. What a wonderful outing for your family. That cake looks so amazingly delicious. I have got to get my hands on that book!

moi + toi PHOTOGRAPHIE said...

Looks like the kids had fun!!! I love baking with apples. I had a fix of apples in pancakes with jam for a week a few times, its all i ate, lunch dinner. You know ive never gone apple picking...

theONLYtania said...

Haha, I love the video! I bet fresh apple juice makes a good hair styling gel. That apple cake looks awesome, man I gotta get that book. Ohhh Christmas is right around the corner! Haha.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous photos, adorable girls and that amazing cake, is there anything you can't do ? ;-)

We went apple picking too and I still have two 25lbs boxes full of apples. I have been cooking, baking, juicing with them. Fresh is so much better <3

bazu said...

I love this post- I love apple picking. I just posted about it today, in fact. I'm all out of apples- time to go back for more. Mmmmm, you've enticed me with the apple cake!

Anna said...

Gorgeous post. I'm jealous of you Northerners who are picking apples--but not quite jealous enough to wish I was heading into fall instead of summer. :) That cake looks divine--I could go for a slice right now.

Anonymous said...

I just got a copy of the Joy of Baking and have been drooling over that German Apple Cake, I'm so happy to hear that it worked very well for you and will make it soon too!
loving your blog, by the way.

laura k said...

How I love apples... it's one thing that gets me excited about fall. That cake looks divine.

Your post reminded me of the poem "After Apple-Picking," one of my favorites, by Robert Frost. Just thought I'd share. :)