{"id":9,"date":"2010-09-28T19:44:37","date_gmt":"2010-09-29T02:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/?p=9"},"modified":"2010-11-08T13:16:36","modified_gmt":"2010-11-08T21:16:36","slug":"drowning-in-apples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/?p=9","title":{"rendered":"Drowning in apples"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yes, it is possible to drown in apples.\u00c2\u00a0 I wouldn’t have thought it was just a few months ago, but I am now convinced.<\/p>\n

We moved to the Seattle area not long ago and the rental we found to move into while we check out the neighborhoods has the joyous distinction of coming with three mature apple trees, a couple of grape vines, and some (finished for the season) berry bushes.\u00c2\u00a0 So cool!\u00c2\u00a0 I have gone apple picking at the local orchard for many years now and love baking with fresh, local varieties.\u00c2\u00a0 Needless to say, we were quite excited at the thought of all the yummy things we could make with the stuff growing in our backyard.<\/p>\n

Alas, just as the movers were arriving to deliver our possessions, one of the trees decided to shed a major limb.\u00c2\u00a0 Turns out it is so terribly diseased that the trunk and as far up the limbs as I can see is hollow.\u00c2\u00a0 The property manager’s friendly maintenance man came by to trim, but the city’s rules are too prohibitive for removing it entirely.\u00c2\u00a0 So we can only sit back and watch it shed limbs, while removing as many of the apples as we can.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And then the second tree decided to drop every last one of its apples during a three-day period.\u00c2\u00a0 Yikes!\u00c2\u00a0 We haven’t even unpacked yet!<\/p>\n

So we gathered and sliced, processed and squeezed, boiled and simmered, until we had 8 quarts of applesauce canned and 5 gallons of hard cider brewing.\u00c2\u00a0 Unfortunately, the bugs and slugs had gotten too far into to the rest before we could collect them.\u00c2\u00a0 But we thought we were doing very well.<\/p>\n

Then the third tree ripened and became beautiful!\u00c2\u00a0 This is the best tree on the property, as well as the biggest fruit tree, with large healthy fabulously tasty juicy apples.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>And so we resolved to be vigilant and gather them before the bugs and slugs could get a chance to make them rotten.\u00c2\u00a0 This time around we are joined by a new competitor – it seems that the squirrels were already in the know about this particular tree and were just waiting for it to reach peak ripeness to pounce.\u00c2\u00a0 I caught one making off with an apple that had landed on the patio the other day.<\/p>\n

However, I think there are plenty to go around!\u00c2\u00a0 We now have added 16 quarts of applesauce canned and 5 gallons of hard cider brewing to the batches made previously.\u00c2\u00a0 And the tree is still 3\/4 full of beautiful apples.<\/p>\n

So yes, I think we are now drowning.<\/p>\n

And I think I am going to switch to making apple chutney instead.\u00c2\u00a0 If anyone would like to recommend a recipe, I’m all ears (eyes).\u00c2\u00a0 We have eaten our fill of dinners with apples, and I am stirring applesauce into my oatmeal every morning, so we are looking for ideas for long-term storage.\u00c2\u00a0 I have a fabulous recipe for apple cake that everyone raves over, but we’re trying to stay away from sweets.\u00c2\u00a0 What a time to be watching one’s figure!<\/p>\n

All this apple activity leads me to make an addition to the Dream Home Wish List: no more than one fruit-bearing tree on the property!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yes, it is possible to drown in apples.\u00c2\u00a0 I wouldn’t have thought it was just a few months ago, but I am now convinced. We moved to the Seattle area not long ago and the rental we found to move … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[33,34],"class_list":["post-9","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gardening","tag-apples","tag-fall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.tangledstrands.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}