Apples upon Apples

Willowbank Cemetery in the Fall:

One of the marvelous things about living in the Annapolis Valley is all of the delicious produce that is grown right in the area. There are many wonderful farm markets all through the valley where you can buy local fruit and vegetables year-round, and many people sell fruit off of little tables in their front yard or at the end of their driveways. But another wonderful thing about living near these farms is how apparent it is when certain crops are being harvested. Last month it was pumpkins. There were pumpkins everywhere: there were piles upon piles of them in front of the farm markets, and even being sold from people's front lawns. We bought a great big pumpkin, and made a whole number of things with it: pumpkin pie, two types of pumpkin muffins: my ordinary recipe, and Grandma Jeanne's, pumpkin barley risotto, pumpkin loaves, and spicy pumpkin soup—and we still have a quart of puree from that pumpkin left in our freezer. In retrospect, it would have been fun to chronicle this baking adventure, so maybe I will next year. That said, if I gradually post some of these recipes, I will link them here.

St. John's Church, Port Williams:

This month at our house is now apple month. We often shop at the local Stirlings farm market, and last month they began giving us coupons: 4 lb of free apples to be redeemed in November with a $10.00 purchase, and we got three of them! 12 lbs of free apples in total! So, (surprise surprise), this month we're baking with apples. So far, I've made Grandma Weber's "Raw Apple Cake" recipe and an apple pie. I was very so happy to finally make the cake, as it's grandma's favourite apple cake, and one we often had for birthdays growing up. (She would serve it with cream cheese icing.) I'd had the recipe for a while, but hadn't made it till now. I am hoping to make it again, too, in the next week or so with the last bag of apples, as I forgot to take photos the first time, and would like to share the recipe. Anyway, in the mean time, here are some photos of familiar spaces out here this fall.