Apple picking

Inspired by my cousin Jessica, who was going apple picking on the East Coast, we decided to do some apple picking of our own. We had a great time at Gabriel Farms in lovely Sebastopol, where those seeking an organic pastoral experience normally need an appointment to do u-pick, but we got lucky and on the day we decided to go because they were participating in the Sonoma County Farm Trails event. Before picking apples, we had lunch at one of my favorite casual vegetarian restaurants, Slice of Life.

So far we're just munching on our apple harvest, but in a couple of days, I might make applesauce with whatever's left, which is what I did with the suddenly un-sexy store-bought apples sitting in the fruit bowl when we returned from apple picking. My applesauce turned out delicious even though I didn't have any lemon juice on hand - I just peeled and lazily chopped the apples, simmered them for 40 mins in a small amount of water, mashed it up with a potato masher, and added cinnamon to taste. Yum!