Tuesday, out in the yard
Sep. 14th, 2010 08:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ksmithI have three crabapple trees in my yard.
In the SW corner is an oldie that was here when I moved in 23 years ago. In the birdbath garden are a couple of smaller varieties, a Louisa weeping-willow-like miniature and a prairie fire, a red-leafed shrub. Both bear the little marble-sized fruit. The old tree is actually a mix of two crabapple varieties, a smaller array of branches with larger fruits and the main tree, which has the little bullet sourballs.
I was out in the backyard mucking about when I examined one of the larger apples. It was in decent shape, not gnarled and spotty. In fact, I thought it looked rather good. So, I decided to see what it tasted like. Took it inside, washed it, and cut a wedge out of it. I fully expected to have to spit it into the sink. Imagine my surprise when I found it tasted pretty much like a MacIntosh! Back outside I went, colander in hand, and picked as many decent-looking ones as I could reach without a ladder.
The skin is thicker, and the fruit isn't as juicy, but I would have been quite happy to use apples like these in a tart or pie. I want to try something different, though, so I hunted around and found recipes for crab apple chutney. I found one that doesn't need to be canned, and if I can find cranberries or currents, I will make it this weekend.
I am ridiculously thrilled over these apples. They're ugly little mugs, but I picked them from a tree in my yard. I wish I had tried this years ago.
I'm still harvesting tomatoes. They look a little strange--some have a gold cast, and others look stripedy.
The Pink Brandywines that I picked green and bag-ripened came out looking kinda incredible. They tasted all right, though I like the Cherokees and Crims better.
I will end this post with a woolly worm. The middle band looks rather wide, which I think presages a mild winter.
In the SW corner is an oldie that was here when I moved in 23 years ago. In the birdbath garden are a couple of smaller varieties, a Louisa weeping-willow-like miniature and a prairie fire, a red-leafed shrub. Both bear the little marble-sized fruit. The old tree is actually a mix of two crabapple varieties, a smaller array of branches with larger fruits and the main tree, which has the little bullet sourballs.
I was out in the backyard mucking about when I examined one of the larger apples. It was in decent shape, not gnarled and spotty. In fact, I thought it looked rather good. So, I decided to see what it tasted like. Took it inside, washed it, and cut a wedge out of it. I fully expected to have to spit it into the sink. Imagine my surprise when I found it tasted pretty much like a MacIntosh! Back outside I went, colander in hand, and picked as many decent-looking ones as I could reach without a ladder.
The skin is thicker, and the fruit isn't as juicy, but I would have been quite happy to use apples like these in a tart or pie. I want to try something different, though, so I hunted around and found recipes for crab apple chutney. I found one that doesn't need to be canned, and if I can find cranberries or currents, I will make it this weekend.
I am ridiculously thrilled over these apples. They're ugly little mugs, but I picked them from a tree in my yard. I wish I had tried this years ago.
I'm still harvesting tomatoes. They look a little strange--some have a gold cast, and others look stripedy.
The Pink Brandywines that I picked green and bag-ripened came out looking kinda incredible. They tasted all right, though I like the Cherokees and Crims better.
I will end this post with a woolly worm. The middle band looks rather wide, which I think presages a mild winter.
