Good Apples

"Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness." (Jane Austen)

I like this quote, though I'm not sure where it's from (a letter or one of the novels?). I've also seen it written two ways, either as "good apples" or "good apple pies." No matter...it rings true!

I love apples, and I was very happy to find a new variety in the produce section at the market the other day. I was drawn to them first because of their lovely name, "Ginger Gold." And then because of their color, a shiny, pale apple green. The picture above makes them look more yellow than they are...or at least more yellow than the ones we have. They taste as good as they look too: very crisp and slightly tart. Not as tart as a Granny Smith, but much more flavorful than Golden Delicious (one of the sweet girl's favorites).

I like this apple so much, in fact, that I went looking for more information about it online. Turns out it's a relatively new find: a Virginia apple from the Blue Ridge region. No wonder I was drawn to it! And it's available August through October.

I have decided, by the way, that this is my fall to finally bake an apple pie. For the first time in ages, I am in a season of my life where I can take a little more time to do things...("we will not be afraid to take time" is one of my personal homeschooling sayings) and baking is one of those things that I really enjoy and can invite the sweet girl to do with me. She loves helping in the kitchen (we made peanut butter cookies yesterday) and measuring and stirring and setting the oven temperature and cleaning up all provide great lessons. So...I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I have never made an apple pie from scratch. This is the year!

If you've got any good apple pie recipes, send them my way. I think already know what pastry recipe I plan to use for the crust though.