Oh the glorious bounty that summer has brought us in this new house. Overwhelmed with apples and pears we made an investment in a cider press. It arrived late last week and we patiently kept it boxed up until some friends arrived on Sunday to help us set it up and put it into production. With three adults and four children we picked and ground and pressed those apples into the most incredible cider. After years of coveting a cider press, I was all too excited to get going to bring out the camera, but there will be more pressings soon and those I will document. Meanwhile we have also been researching making hard cider. We have three pear trees that are loaded and there are only so many cans of pears you need over a year! We look forward to trying our luck at hard pear cider.
The blackberries get picked a container at a time as I find a few minutes between chores. Some are being made into jam, others frozen on cookie sheets and transfered to ziplocks to throw into winter oatmeal.
The peaches are just starting to ripen. These peaches are much different from what we had before. They are smaller, denser and even more flavorful. Tomorrow morning, expect to find me in the kitchen making peach fruit roll ups.
Our patch of tomatoes are growing slowly but surely as are our rows of melons below.
Also growing is our little girl, 11 months now. How time flies. (This is how we looked one year ago.) She now has become privy to the apples. A typical morning finds me wandering around the garden, her on my hip and a freshly picked apple in my other hand. She now leans all the way forward for bites as we walk along. Sweet little thing.
I have so many exciting things to share with you in the coming weeks. New lotion experiments, a book giveaway, and new kitchen experiments. Stay tuned!
Beautiful!! I LOVE your garden and fruit trees! Enjoy the bounty!
How wonderful to have an over abundance of fruit in your own yard. If there is a food pantry in your area they would love to have fresh fruit to give the people who don’t have enough money to but fresh food.
We are making hard cider for the first time too. Good luck with yours, and let us know how the hard paer cider goes. You might consider making wine with your fruit. I have hade a wonderful pear wine, and apple mead you might like to try.
What a wonderful thing it must have been to press your own cider. Thanks so much for sharing the pictures of the fruit with us.
When I looked at your photo of your pear tree I just said ‘wow’! How great do your fruit trees look!!! I hope my newly planted pear trees look like that one day.
I am very interested in how you keep your fruit so beautiful! We have pears and apples and try not to spray and they look just terrible. Any helpful hints?
I am so envious of all your fruit trees. They’re so beautiful and now that I’ve moved to the city I don’t have fruit trees or gardens in the backyard.
As I only discovered the delicious marvel that is pear cider last year I’d love to hear how your experiment turns out, and if you have any process/recipe recommendations -keep us posted and happy harvesting!
Sounds like your new home is perfect for your family! And what a wonderful blessing to have found a property with mature producing fruit trees! Enjoy all the delicious bounty.
Oh, your fruit is wonderful. I love pressing apples into cider with friends. Such a fun activity (cause it’s no fun to do alone). Can’t wait to see your canning projects.
Oh how wonderful, all of it.
My children adore pear juice. I wonder if you could use the press for some and can it to keep it fresh. Or freeze, I suppose. . .
So many exciting choices.
Recently found your blog and am very jealous of all the lovely fruit you have growing, lucky!
How lucky to find a new garden with all that bounty. Ours had one fig tree and the only flowering plant was a cactus. Talk about blank canvas. Looking forward to more…
That little chubby hand in the last picture made me “sol” (squeal out loud). I’m not usually the high pitched giddy type but it was just too darned cute to contain the inner enthusiasm.
I’m jealous!