We are definitely experiencing fall with breathtaking foliage around the Hudson Valley this month. One of my favorite ways to take in the views and get the full fall experience is to go apple picking. There are so many orchards around the valley (check out our post a few years back for some other farms), but this past weekend I visited Lawrence Farms Orchards for the first time. Not only did I get to pick apples, but I also grabbed some pumpkins, gourds, tomatoes, eggplants, and beans! I had so much fun with the bonus of getting a nice walk in and taking in stunning views of the valley.
Once we arrived (which was $10 per person), we headed over to the starter booth where we were given bags to begin our harvesting journey! We knew we wanted to get some things aside from apples so we stocked up on about 6 bags. They provided maps and a useful key for which ribbons on which trees indicate the type of apple they are. As you can tell, apple season is still in full swing, even though a few varieties have already closed out their seasons.
Before starting our apple picking journey, we took in the view from the top of the farm. It was absolutely stunning with the trees in different colors.
We started off aiming for the Fuji apples which are one my favorites – second only to Honey Crisps which were out of season already. I also knew I wanted to bake something so we grabbed some Granny Smiths as well. I was able to sympathize with Snow White after gravitating towards the Rome apples, which have a deep saturated red skin.
After grabbing some apples we picked some eggplants, tomatoes, and beans. The eggplants were still pretty young so we only grabbed a handful. The tomatoes were also quite green so we spent a good amount of time roaming the rows to find the perfect few. I’m a huge fan of heirloom tomatoes so I was looking pretty intensely to find a few soft ones. As for the beans, these were probably the most fun to pick! There were so many and since they blend in with the rest of the plant it was fun to pull back the leaves and find so many beans!
Lawrence Farms Orchard also had two firepits for smores and a stand where we got some apple cider donuts. They were nice and warm and hit the spot after all of our walking.
In this area we also picked two pumpkins to take home and carve later! Before leaving we also grabbed some gourds and apple cider to-go.
After returning home from our day at the orchard, we were eager to try some apples. We set up a vibrant charcuterie board with thinly sliced apples and cheese. We cut up two tomatoes (it looks like we cut 5!) and made a tomato salad with balsamic vinaigrette, olive oil, basil, coarse salt, and pepper. For the beans we did a quick sauté with olive oil and then topped it with everything but the bagel seasoning and extra sesame seeds. This was such a refreshing meal and a great way to celebrate the day!
I of course plan to bake something with the Granny Smiths which we’ll be sure to share here as well… be on the lookout! We hope you also get a chance to enjoy the weather and all of the spectacular colors around the valley this fall.
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