Wednesday, October 1, 2008

How About Them Apples?

Today's Wonder of the World is...the Apple!

Flickr photo by rebecca scritchfield
Oh apples, you're so tempting in all your juicy lusciousness!
No wonder you get a bad rap!
It's really not fair.
First Eve and Adam's apple...

Flickr photo by tc.sargent
No, not that one! Though it's only there because Adam's apple got stuck in his throat!
Remember that?

The Fall of Man by Goltzius
Not the apple's fault! In fact, the Bible just calls it a fruit! Not an apple!
Who knows...the serpent could have tempted Eve into picking a banana! An orange! A pear or persimmon.
Let's not blame the apple.
(And thanks Goltzius. I'd always pictured Adam as a dog lover, not a cat man.)

You too, Disney.

Walt, why couldn't you have made the evil queen poison Snow White with a bad pear? Or a baguette? Or a Rice Krispie Treat?
For the love of all that is good in the world, why must it always be the apple?

My family absolutely LOVES apples! Except for Sam, my youngest, who says they just smell too apple-y.
It's apple picking time in the Carolinas, and most of us are enjoying every minute of it.
We're not picky. We love them all--Pink Ladies, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Winesap, and Rome. Even those tiny ugly apples that make such good applesauce!
In fact, we've eaten so many that we're starting to happlelucinate!

Know what I mean? I'll be driving along, and I'll look up at a street light and see this!

Flickr photo by SangeethaCan
Do know what else I love?
This!

Flickr photo by Ploughman
My sweet sis-in-law Leah gave me a Pampered Chef apple slicer/peeler/corer for Christmas one year because she knew what apple lovers we were. I thought it was a nice gift, until I used it.
Then IT CHANGED MY LIFE!
Well, not really. But it made it more fun! And easier.
Turn the handle and it peels, cores, and slices apples into spiral rings!
We've even gotten that thing out during children's birthday parties and you should see the kids go wild! Everybody wants a turn and it tricks them into eating healthy food!
End of commercial. (Someone really ought to pay me.)

Of course, the only problem is that the peel is so thin that you can't really throw it over your shoulder to read the initials of your true love.
Oh well. You'll just have to find a fortune teller instead. Or maybe date people.

And if you find someone you like an awful lot, you should make them one of these.

Flickr photo by DigitalHowie
Unless you're a bad cook.
Then you should just go to a carnival and buy one of these.

Flickr photo by jessevanbrabant
Do you know what the French call candy apples? A pomme d'amour. A love apple!
Oh, those romantic French.

I have so much amour for apples that I might even go to etsy, HERE, and buy them all sweaters.


Photo by handmaidenbc
Very chic, apple!

I like dried apples too.
When I was little, I used to make dried apple dolls.

Flickr photo by Amanda SLC
Though mine never turned out that well. My doll ladies always had big liver spots on their faces.
Speaking of dried apples, have you ever eaten dried apple stack cake?

Flickr photo by www.lauraskitchen.net/cakes.htm
Oh my sweet Lord, those are delicious.
Both my grannies used to make them.
Now I have a wild craving. I will have to go to Kentucky and beg my aunts to make me one.
And hey! There are roadside apple stands all along the way!

But I bet they don't have this kind.

Flickr photo by dictionary corner
Those are atises, (ati?) also known as custard apples.
Hmm. I'll keep an open mind, but they look a little scaly to me.
That's okay. As the Osmonds said, "One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch girl..."
(By the way, Donny, it's a good thing I'm not the grammar police! But then I did choose the title for this post. Don't tell anyone.)

Have a wonder-full Wednesday, y'all!
And tell me all about your apple love. What's your favorite kind?
And what about the bad rap apples get? Can you think of any unsung good apples?

21 comments:

Bobbie said...

My favorite it the Macoun, but it's in season for roughly 7 hours each fall. Okay, more like 4 weeks, but nowhere near long enough, and I haven't been able to find them in my neck of the woods since we moved to Chicago 2 months ago. So I'm loading up on my second favorite: Honeycrisp, which also has a relatively short season. I've been wanting to make the apple-face dolls with my kids, but I'm afraid of the nightmares I'll be giving them.

Anonymous said...

YOU are the Apple of My Eye today!! What a terrific apple post--I have one of those P. Chef Peelers, too, and I have used it for many a pie, but I still prefer the old-fashioned way of cutting up the pieces (and sometimes a digit) myself.

LOVE the Osmonds apple tune, too! You are just the best---what a treat to read you first thing!

BTW--you'll have to check out my post when you have a chance---great minds at work here today!

Dana

David Ebright said...

Your post brought back a good memory about my dad. My parents had one of those apple peelers & he would use it to peel & core apples so my mom could make apple cake. It is the only thing he ever did, that I know of, that had anything to do with food preparation. Like me, his culinary skills were limited to pouring milk on cereal. Thanks

Unknown said...

Well, I really liked them apples!!! The apple cakes your grannies used to make look delish! I bought two apples last night and the bagger promptly threw them in a grocery sack and put them in the grocery cart OF THE GUY AHEAD OF ME!!!! HEllO! Those were MY apples...LOL! It was kinda funny. You should've seen the look on that guys face when I told him I wanted my food back, LOL! He had no idea we had to go through all his groceries to get them back (and my nectarines AND my carrots).
Have a happy day!

lotusgirl said...

We are big apple lovers too! My new fave for eating are the Pink Ladies. Just the right blend of tart and sweet. Rome is my favorite for pies.

Before we moved back to the Carolinas we lived in Signal Mountain, TN, near Chattanooga, and there was a big apple orchard there. They made their own cider and you could only get it from Sept. thru Christmas. It was the most delectable nectar ever. I'm just sick that I can't get it anymore. I've tried all the different kinds I can find around here and nothing even comes close. I hesitate to call it swill--but in comparison...

We're going apple picking, pressing, boiling etc. to make our own cider Nov. 1 in VA this year. Maybe it will come somewhere near. Wish me luck! Holy moly! my mouth is watering!

There are so many amazing things in your post I can't even begin to name them all. I'll just say: Wow! Apples! Mmmmmm!

LW said...

A pomme d'amour. A love apple!
I would love one right now....

I have never seen Pink Ladies, I will put that on my list of must haves....

Louise

Anonymous said...

Your post was perfect today because yesterday? Team Testosterone and I made trip 1 of 2 to the orchard and picked 40 pounds and just now I was admiring our bounty and deciding what to bake:)

Rosemary said...

I love all apples, but especially the tart ones.
Happy October!!
We have the cutest Hotel about 3 hours away called the Apple Farm.
Love it!
Rosemary

Doreen Frost said...

Oh my goodness..now i'm starving...Love this apple post...I have that same apple peelers..must admit....don't often bother to use it..I usually just peel them myself...i think I might dig it out and start using it again.

Love the chic apple cozy!!

Have a wonderful day :)
Doreen

Kat said...

I MUST have pie RIGHT NOW! And I don't even like pie that much. Oh, but that pic! MMmmmm.

Felicity said...

I love sliced apples with caramel dip! There is always a stand selling these at my hometown harvest festival. YUM!

When I eat an apple not dipped in sugar, I like a Braeburn.

And how about apple chips? Those can be tasty!

Unknown said...

Yummy! I like Royal Gala apples.

Kim said...

Loved the apple sweater. So pointless, but so adorable.
Thanks for your nice comment on my blog.
Have a great day.

Jamie @ Bungalow Bee said...

Pampered Chef apple corer, peeler, slicers are the BEST! A friend let us borrow hers so I used it to peel, core, and slice some getting-soft Gala apples. I'm eating an apple right now, as a matter of fact. YUM - Washington apples. Can't beat 'em.

Any ideas what to do with Gala apples? They've been in my freezer for while and I'm anxious to use them. Problem is that Galas are sweet and not something you'd make a pie out of, I don't think.

Susan Sandmore said...

My computer is my favorite Apple. ::swoon:: I have been an Apple kid for years and years--maybe 30 years?

Second to that, I'll that a piece of that drool-worthy pie with the ice cream on top.

Jojo said...

Hard to sing on a blog but something unsung:

The Lord is good to me
and so I thank the Lord.
For giving me the things I need.
The sun and the rain and the appleseed.
The Lord is good to me.

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I bought a sackful today!

CC said...

I eat a Granny Smith apple every single work day of the year (except during the fall when they are ALL great!). I love apples!!!!!!

May Vanderbilt said...

When I was little I thought I hated apples. My mom only bought big bags of cheap Red Delicious ones. Then I tried a Pink Lady apple and was hooked. She is truly the queen of all apples. I like to eat them with a little bit of sharp cheddar.

Anonymous said...

I am drooling!That time of year here in NE for apple anything! I have been sipping apple tea to not indulge my cravings! I remember apple picking as a child.I miss my Mom's Maine apple pies!!
LOL Denise

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Ah, Pink Ladies. Everyone should try them. They're delicious and they make me think of Grease. (The movie, not the lard.) That is what the girls called themselves, right?

I love all the apple songs and stories. And apple with caramel--what a treat!