Apple Cider and All Those Things.
Anyone how knows me at all knows that this is my favorite time of year. The leaves changing color, the cool crisp air, the apple picking, pumpkin patches and harvest festivals and where I thrive. I love, and i mean LOVE to have a hot cup of cider or pumpkin spiced coffee in hand and stroll through shops, and harvest markets and taken in all the pumpkiny goodness. I would be completely fine with the whole year consisting of simply August-December. Maybe throw in a month of spring here and there and im all set.
The one thing I will say is as soon at it hits September every year it seems the months are only half as long as the summer months, and I feel it all slipping by too fast. I am grasping every moment of autumn and holding on as tightly as I possibly can, but the days go by too fast. So I sit outside as much as possible. We go hiking and to the farms and harvest party's,trying to soak in every wonderful moment. No matter how well I plan, I can never seem to do everything I want to do in Autumn. I want to go to Portland and go hiking, and see some wonderful brethren that we haven't gotten to see in too long. I want to go to Ashland and stop by this amazing kids store I found last year and get a toy for Adeline that I had when I was little, take her to the park and walk by the steam watching the leaves fall. If you have never been to Ashland in October, I strongly recommend it. It's a beautiful little town, with some great food choice, adorable shops and the trees are stunning. We went last year for a birthday trip and I did not want to leave.
Another thing I do every single fall is bake, cook and brew excessively. Monday I spent my whole day making apple cider, apple sauce, and apple pie filling. My house smelt like heaven all day long, and I loved every cinnamon filled minute of it. Every year I get tons of compliments on my apple cider and a few requests for the recipe, so I thought I would just leave it at the end of this post in case anyone wants to try it out! I found it a few years ago and after adjusting most of it to my specifications, I love the way it turned out. That's one thing I love about cooking, you can always change a recipe to fit your liking. Of course some recipes are perfect the way they are, like my pumpkin roll recipe ;) (which I am always willing to share if anyone is looking for a good recipe!)
And of course, now that it's October Halloween preparations are in full swing everywhere and I still haven't decided what to be this year. Adeline has two costumes (on accident lol) She can be a cat or a rainbow monster, both are the cutest thing ever... of course maybe its just her that's so cute but either way I can't makeup my mind. Landon has school on Tuesday nights which of course is when Halloween falls this year so I don't know if he will be able to dress up and go out with us. But either way, I need a costume so if anyone has any ideas for me, PLEASE let me know!!
Well, I am sitting outside on this crisp morning letting Adeline get some energy out before we go get some grocery shopping done, so I guess I will take my leave, down below you will find the recipe I promised. Feel free to adjust the sugar as sweet as you like. The recipe does make it sweeter, I have used less more often than not because Landon doesn't like it as sweet, but to each his/her own!!
Also if you have any tried and true amazing recipes you think I should know about, please feel free to comment down below as well! Until next time, God bless <3
Abbey's Apple Cider
Ingredients:
1 orange
10 medium apples (use a variety-- I use Honeycrisp and Granny Smith)
3 cinnamon sticks (or 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon)
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
2 cups fresh/frozen cranberries
Directions:
-Peel the orange and place the segments in the slow cooker. Wash the apples, cut into quarters, and place in the slow cooker. Add the cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, cranberries, and sugar. Add enough water to cover the fruit.
-Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. (Or high heat for 3.)
-After 6-7 hours, the fruit will be very soft. Use a large spoon to mash the fruit and release its liquids. Allow the cider to cook on low for 1 more hour.
-Very slowly strain the chunky liquid though a fine mesh sieve into a large pot or pitcher. You can discard the solids. Strain the cider one more time to rid any other solids. Serve the cider warm. Leftover cider keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. Warm up on the stove before serving-- or drink it cold!
Make ahead tip: Cider can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!! :)
The one thing I will say is as soon at it hits September every year it seems the months are only half as long as the summer months, and I feel it all slipping by too fast. I am grasping every moment of autumn and holding on as tightly as I possibly can, but the days go by too fast. So I sit outside as much as possible. We go hiking and to the farms and harvest party's,trying to soak in every wonderful moment. No matter how well I plan, I can never seem to do everything I want to do in Autumn. I want to go to Portland and go hiking, and see some wonderful brethren that we haven't gotten to see in too long. I want to go to Ashland and stop by this amazing kids store I found last year and get a toy for Adeline that I had when I was little, take her to the park and walk by the steam watching the leaves fall. If you have never been to Ashland in October, I strongly recommend it. It's a beautiful little town, with some great food choice, adorable shops and the trees are stunning. We went last year for a birthday trip and I did not want to leave.
Another thing I do every single fall is bake, cook and brew excessively. Monday I spent my whole day making apple cider, apple sauce, and apple pie filling. My house smelt like heaven all day long, and I loved every cinnamon filled minute of it. Every year I get tons of compliments on my apple cider and a few requests for the recipe, so I thought I would just leave it at the end of this post in case anyone wants to try it out! I found it a few years ago and after adjusting most of it to my specifications, I love the way it turned out. That's one thing I love about cooking, you can always change a recipe to fit your liking. Of course some recipes are perfect the way they are, like my pumpkin roll recipe ;) (which I am always willing to share if anyone is looking for a good recipe!)
And of course, now that it's October Halloween preparations are in full swing everywhere and I still haven't decided what to be this year. Adeline has two costumes (on accident lol) She can be a cat or a rainbow monster, both are the cutest thing ever... of course maybe its just her that's so cute but either way I can't makeup my mind. Landon has school on Tuesday nights which of course is when Halloween falls this year so I don't know if he will be able to dress up and go out with us. But either way, I need a costume so if anyone has any ideas for me, PLEASE let me know!!
Well, I am sitting outside on this crisp morning letting Adeline get some energy out before we go get some grocery shopping done, so I guess I will take my leave, down below you will find the recipe I promised. Feel free to adjust the sugar as sweet as you like. The recipe does make it sweeter, I have used less more often than not because Landon doesn't like it as sweet, but to each his/her own!!
Also if you have any tried and true amazing recipes you think I should know about, please feel free to comment down below as well! Until next time, God bless <3
Abbey's Apple Cider
Ingredients:
1 orange
10 medium apples (use a variety-- I use Honeycrisp and Granny Smith)
3 cinnamon sticks (or 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon)
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
2 cups fresh/frozen cranberries
Directions:
-Peel the orange and place the segments in the slow cooker. Wash the apples, cut into quarters, and place in the slow cooker. Add the cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, cranberries, and sugar. Add enough water to cover the fruit.
-Cook on low heat for 6-7 hours. (Or high heat for 3.)
-After 6-7 hours, the fruit will be very soft. Use a large spoon to mash the fruit and release its liquids. Allow the cider to cook on low for 1 more hour.
-Very slowly strain the chunky liquid though a fine mesh sieve into a large pot or pitcher. You can discard the solids. Strain the cider one more time to rid any other solids. Serve the cider warm. Leftover cider keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. Warm up on the stove before serving-- or drink it cold!
Make ahead tip: Cider can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!! :)
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