Sunday, April 18, 2010

From the tree to our mouths

This weekend we decided to take a break and went away to an apple/pear farm about 1hrs drive away. They offer "gleaning" opportunities after the main fruit has been picked.

We stayed in the renovated laborers cottages which are surrounded by lovely lawns and oak trees. The big bonus is that the farmers have made 4 graded mountain biking trails through their orchards, fields and pine forests. So the weekend was a full, but lovely relaxing one.



Some of the orchards were still not harvested so we could not pick from the trees, but whatever was on the ground was ours for the taking.



Some of the very ripe ones always found a willing mouth to feed...there were donkeys and horses all around.



The pears were huge...these trees had already been harvested but the lower branches were still hanging heavy with these massive beauties.



The evenings ended with yummy stews over the fire...and the kids made smores...decadent, unhealthy and definately more-ish.



Despite all the apples and pears that we ate while there, we have come home with a decent stash to be eaten and turned into some yummy dishes.

9 comments:

Chris said...

What a lovely weekend! I like the sound of 'gleaning' opportunities and "smores", I think I have heard of them but can't quite remember what they are. Enjoy deciding what to do with your delicious fruit.

Urban Homestead South Africa said...

Smores....my daughter saw how to make smores when she was about 5 on a Barney show....6 yrs later and we decided to give them a try.

Roast your marshmallow over the embers, place a square of chocolate on a Marie biscuit (graham cracker in the USA). Place the roasted mallow on th choc and use another Marie to hold it together while you remove the skewer or kebab stick.

Smoosh down, eat and enjoy - very sticky, very yummy.

Lois Evensen said...

What a marvelous outing! Great images and it looks like even better eating. Thanks for sharing.

Lois in Cincinnati

LoLo said...

What a great weekend! I have just recently stumbled across your blog and I thank you so much for what you post and for the pictures! I would love to one day live in Africa, but until then, thanks for letting me get a glimpse into your lives!

Tanya Murray said...

sounds awesome!

African Bliss said...

Its good to take a break. We also have orchards around us where the farmers allow us to go picking. We have 2 organically run orchards and with their fruit, we are going to attempt to make apple cider vinegar, as we use a lot of it. Love your blog, keep it up!

Anonymous said...

Wondering if I could have the contact details for the farm where you stayed? Sounds like a great family weekend.

crocombej AT hbc.ac.za

Kelly-Anne said...

Hi Wendy, like Hobbes, I would also like to ask you for the contact details of the farm, if you dont mind? We are doing the FIAR book 'How to make an apple pie and see the world', and I was hoping to plan an outing to an orchard....this one sounds perfect. Many Thanks, Hazel

Urban Homestead South Africa said...

We stayed at Oaklane Cottages in Lebanon near Grabouw. They are on the web. Michelle kindly allowed us to walk in her orchards, the only guideline was that we were only to take what we could eat - no wastage. It was a lovely time. I hope to add some pear recipes to my blog soon.