Afton Apple Orchard

A few weeks ago, I flew to Minneapolis to visit my best friend Lisa. Lisa and I are best friends for a lot of reasons - we just get each other, but Lisa and I also have a passion for food. So the weekend was filled with food related things: pulled-pork tacos at a Canadian Tuxedo party, delicious heuvos racheros and corn bread made by Lisa, Arby's curly fries - yum, homemade apple pie, and dinner at Cafe Twenty-Eight.

Minneapolis is a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively) compared to NYC. After staying with Lisa and her boyfriend Jesse's house, it left me wondering is New York City really that great? Yes and no. Lisa and Jesse have a garden which includes: tomatoes, green beans, squash, herbs (rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, dill), cucumbers, brussel sprouts, asparagus, rhubarb, beets, carrots, garlic and watermelon. Simply amazing! They even were growing raspberries until a ground hog ate them. And although I can go to the Green Market, it just isn't the same as growing the vegetables yourself.

On Saturday, Lisa and Jesse took me to the Afton Apple Orchard. I have only gone apple picking once before so I was pretty excited. After a long but lovely ride out to the country, we arrived. The great thing about Afton Apple Orchard is that they have a booth where you can sample every apple and then go out to the orchard and pick the ones you like best. Deciding which apple was superior became a contentious debate between all of us. We all love Honeycrisp, but that wasn't available for picking. Three against one decided that the Honey Gold was the best. I was the odd man out and this is why: the Honey Gold apple had floral notes like that of a pear, and if I wanted a pear I would have just bought one, I want an apple to taste like an apple. My personal favorite was the Regent, but we ended up getting the Honey Gold and a bunch of Haralsons for baking. Click here to see Afton's description of each apple. Here are some pictures of our visit:

Sampling booth.Apple Orchard.

Haralson Apples. Photo taken by Lisa M. Kreidler.
Sneaky apple eating - Very Illegal. Photo taken by Lisa M. Kreidler.The cutest donkey ever!Apple donut dessert.
Apple pie making. Photo taken by A.W.D.

If you live in Minneapolis I definitely recommend stopping by the Afton Apple Orchard, they also have raspberry, blueberries, cherries, peaches, and pumpkins to pick when each are in season. If you don't live in Minneapolis, find an orchard near you - it is a wonderful activity on a dreamy fall day.