What is the best thing about this time of year? Just the fact this is the only time you can get Honeycrisp Apples!!!!! OMG!!!! Have you ever tasted one? They are exactly as described... sweet as honey and oh-so-crisp! They are the only red apples I will eat. And I will eat them by the bushel. And I do! Because the season is so short, I gorge myself on them. They are so divine. And I do not bake with them. It seems almost sacreligious to do so. I will bake with MacIntosh apples any day. Those are the absolute best for apple crisp. And Gala's or Paula Red's are perfect for apple pies. But Honeycrisp's? No. They must be eaten as is.
They crunch as you bite in. The juice runs stickly down your chin. The sweetness fills your mouth, without a hint of tartness. It's like eating candy from nature. Literally! And I have a kitchen full of them.
My next stop? Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. John's for fresh cider. It's fall. Cider is a must have around the bonfire! Warm cider with a stick of cinnamon for stirring... so simple and yet so elegant. Want to feel like Martha Stewart without the stick up your you-know-what? Get some big, over-size mugs. Pour warm cider in them. Insert long stick of cinnamon. Ouila! Throw in a couple whole cloves and a sprinkle of fresh ground nutmeg and a squeeze of an orange wedge, and you can be Martha's overlord in mere seconds. MUAHaaaahhaahaaaa!
With the fresh air coming through the windows in the kitchen (I don't care if it's chilly out - the sun is incredible, and the smell of leaves is amazing), pumpkins galore at the farmers market this week, and my favorite apples in abundance, life is good right now! As long as it doesn't snow anytime soon... And I have to go back to my second favorite apple, Granny Smith, and bundling up in snow gear.
Are you in the mood for Autumn on this first day of October?
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