a muse bouche: slim pickins

For the past few fall seasons I’ve really wanted to go apple picking but was unable to make it happen. This year Justin graciously planned an outing for us. He’s allergic to raw apples but he does like apple cider donuts, so we were both pretty psyched. We chose Outhouse Orchards in North Salem, New York because it seemed relatively close to the city. We rented a car and hit the road, only to sit in traffic for an hour on the West Side Highway. Note to NYC readers: Avoid driving out of the city on a Sunday when there are multiple charity walks and street fairs in effect… When we did finally make our way out of Manhattan it was worth it. The foliage along the drive was really beautiful, and just being outdoors in the apple orchard was refreshing.

Outhouse Orchards, however, was unimpressive. In fact its name is quite fitting :) We paid $25 for an empty mesh bag, presumably to be filled to the brim with ripe apples. And we borrowed two apple-picking poles, which to me resembled torture devices. In fact walking within a ten-foot vicinity of Justin felt unsafe. I feared I’d be decapitated! When we reached the apple trees it was literally slim pickings. Most of the trees were bare. Some had a few rotten apples still hanging. And some had apples up so high you’d have to climb in order to reach them – which Justin did. He swung at the branches and made it rain with apples, which all dented upon impact. There was “apple sauce” all over the place. Anyway we did manage to pick an apple. Success! The saving grace was that Outhouse Orchards encourages their pickers to “top off” their empty mesh bags with pre-picked apples. So we didn’t come home empty-handed save for that one apple gem. Apple cider donuts were sold nearby at Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard. We chose plain and cinnamon sugar. Both were scrumptious.