Sorry, E.E. Cummings, for ripping off your delightful poem on Spring for my blog title. But it's apple season, that crisp-luscious time of the year!
The story goes that the first apple tree in the Hudson Valley was planted by Governor Peter Stuyvesant in 1647 on the corner of Third Avenue and 13th Street in Manhattan. By the mid-1700s, apple orchards flourished along the Hudson all the way up to the Canadian border. And apples are still an important export for New York State where U-pick orchards are easy to find.
One of the closest apple orchards is actually right in Ossining -- Thompson's Cider Mill. While you can't pick your own apples here, Thompson's is a boutique orchard located just past Teatown at 335 Blinn Road. Owned and operated as a labor of love by Geoff Thompson, the cider mill is only open on weekends in September and October. Cider is pressed every morning and you're free to watch the process. Thompson's also offers many varieties of apples -- some which are quite uncommon heirloom types. It's an utterly picturesque place and looks like something Martha Stewart would design.
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If you want to pick your own apples, you have many, many choices within an hour's drive of Ossining. Some of my favorites include Wilkins Fruit and Fir Farm in Yorktown Heights (914-245-5111), Barton Orchards in Poughquag (845-227-2306), Harvest Moon Orchards (914-485-1210) and Outhouse Orchards, both in North Salem (914-277-3188.) In fact, we went up to Outhouse this past Friday and loaded up on Empires, McIntosh, Cortlandts and Golden Delicious. It's also right across the street from Harvest Moon, so you make sure to try dozens of varieties. Call first, though, because each orchard has different hours of operation.
Below is an absolutely scrumptious and easy recipe for the bushels of apples you're sure to be toting home. It's also as unhealthy as you can make apples, but oh so good!
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Mountain Dew Dumplings
Ingredients:
2 cans crescent rolls
3-4 tart apples
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 can Mountain Dew soda
Method:
Spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with cooking spray.
Peel and slice apples into 16 pieces. Roll each apple slice in one section of crescent roll dough.
Place rolled slices in pan.
Melt butter, add sugar and cinnamon, and pour over apples.
Pour can of Mountain Dew over it all.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 45 minutes.
