Criss Cross Applesauce

I had a moment of panic recently when I discovered that apple season is very limited.  A local orchard stated that they only had apple picking for one more weekend and then another stated that you could not pick your own apples due to an early frost.  I was in a bit of a panic when I did a little research and found out about Hendersonville, NC - aka Apple Valley.  I picked a destination and we passed about 6 farms on the way to the farm I had inputed in the GPS - Coston.  Upon arriving I walked up to the counter and told them my plan.  They directed me to the wagons, gave me two large baskets, and some sort of contraption to get the apples from the top of the tree. When asked how many I planned to pick I stared blankly and was told that two baskets equaled a bushel - way too many apples for just the two of us!

 

 

In order to completely knock this one off my list I had to actually make something with the apples.  Tonight the house smelled amazing as I cooked up some apples and cinnamon for applesauce.  Homemade applesauce and ice cream as a snack - so good.  I was told I had picked a "peck" of apples meaning that I have many left.  I plan to make an apple crisp and possibly some apple butter. 

 

We spent the end of last week with my family in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge,TN.  I love being able to spend time with my family and wish that I could seem them more often, but distance and travelexpenses make it difficult so I make the most of the time I do get to spend with them.  We visited WonderWorks, the Titanic Museum, Dollywood, and did some shopping in downtown Gatlinburg.  I took a ton of pictures - I really need to do some work to catch up on my scrapbook! I will leave you with a few pictures from the trip out of the 200ish I took. :)

Less than thrilled for his photo shoot. :)