First Harvest

Well, a couple weekends ago, we decided that the apples in the trees were ready to eat. The larger tree near the house has huge green apples on it--they're "cooking apples", meaning that they're otherwise too tart to just eat, so you've got to cook them first. This is not a concept I was familiar with coming from the US...

The second tree is at the bottom of the garden [yard]. It's apples are some variety, but we haven't a clue...maybe Gala? They're turning red and clearly, ready for eating! I pulled one of them off the tree, washed it and bit in---Yummy!

So, having a couple of little monkeys that like to climb trees around that day, we sent them up to weed out the yucky apples and pick the ripe ones.
Here's Drama in the "Cooking Apple" tree.


And can you spot the blonde monkey in this tree?


And here's a view of the spoiled apples--these are ones that have been half eaten by squirrels (who knew they like apples?), slugs, and other creepy crawlies. The recycling people picked these up for the giant compost heap that the council runs.


I do have a compost bin in the garden area of my garden, but I figured that too many apples wasn't good for it...No real reason for my conclusion, except that I figured the composting would be better if there was a variety of things in there. That maybe the apple compost would make it too acidic? Feel free to post a comment if you have any compost-knowledge to share!

Anyway, we ate our fill of apples and have given lots away to colleagues. I haven't yet had time to bake anything with the apples in it, but I will!
I did bake some white chocolate/macadamia nut cookies the other night. Somehow that seemed infinitely easier than coring and peeling tons of apples before the cooking could even commence... The cookies were really good (if I do say so myself)--and I'm happy to report that my new oven bakes nice and evenly!

I've also re-started my Able & Cole Organic Food delivery now that we're nearly settled in the new house. They bring me a "mixed" box of organic fruit and veg from the UK every week. I started it a long while ago in Richmond, so that I could get used to trying new vegetables and stuff that I just didn't really know about eating...like Leeks, Fennel, Jerusalem Artichokes, etc. It's also been a good way to ensure that we're eating fresh vegetables and not getting in a food rut.
Between the Able & Cole delivery and the apples, we have lots of good fruit at all times!
So, in an attempt to ensure more fruit/veg is eaten than goes into the compost bin, I bought a juicer. I haven't used it yet...but certainly will soon. The only time I ever have used a juicer in the past is at my sister's house (let's call her Lamb--that was my Granny's nickname for her) in California. She had monster orange trees in her yard (and other types of trees as well), so the novelty of getting the ladder out to pick oranges and juice them wasn't lost on me when I visited!
My juicer came with a book of recipes and other tips, so I'm looking forward to using it!