Sounds like you & your daughter had a really good time. I plan on taking my
kids apple picking too...it'll be a first for us. The first thing that
comes to mind is baked apples, simple but delicious.
Apple pie
Apple crisp
pear tart

Take care,
SPOONS




"Nexis" > wrote in message
news:q%t3d.205040$4o.182806@fed1read01...
> Today I grabbed my daughter and headed out in the convertible for a nice
> drive as far away from the city as I could go and still get back in time
> to
> tuck her in on a school night. Which is to say, we popped the top and
> headed
> for Julian, where apple season has officially kicked off. Calico Ranch was
> closed, but Meyers orchard was in full swing, and wow did they have some
> gorgeous apples and pears. I wound up with Earligolds, Jonagolds,
> Jonathans,
> and a few pounds of crab apples for my mom to make jelly. They also had
> Bartlett pears, red pears, and Asian pears, so I bought 5 lbs of pears
> too.
> Rounded things out with some cucumbers, spicy garlic olives, pimento
> olives,
> fresh roasted peanuts, and a coupla pounds of pecans (a favorite of my
> parents).
>
> Loaded everything up in the car and it was mere minutes from there to
> Julian. Rather than stick to main street we went off down farmers road to
> a
> pick your own orchard where they have all pesticide free organic fruits
> and
> veggies. And an art gallery. Odd combination, but it works. More Jonathans
> there, as well as some red delicious. My daughter had a blast picking
> those,
> since the branches were within her reach, and they're small, so perfect
> for
> her lunch. They had a giant blackberry bush that had a few berries left
> too.
> Small, but oh so tasty.
>
> In town, it was heritage days, so there were some pretty awesome costumes
> to
> be seen, and a bluegrass festival to boot. After lunch, we took a nice
> peaceful break at the Julian Pie Shop, which I like because they have
> Mountain Berry Apple pie, and a big porch swing out back.
>
> When all was said and done, we ended up with about 4 of the 5 pound bags
> of
> apples and 5 pounds of pears. I know I'll be making apple butter, since
> I've
> been hounded for months....but I thought I'd get some ideas here for
> other,
> new things to try. So....any ideas?? ;-)
>
>
> kimberly
>
>