September is Apple Month, and it’s the time of year when thousands of families look forward to heading out to the local orchard for some apple picking fun. My family is no exception. In fact, we live in a part of the country where apple orchards abound. Picking our peck is a big deal, so we like to make a day of it.
An increasing number of apple orchards have expanded their offerings beyond picking fruit. Many have on-site cafes where you can enjoy a meal after you’ve spent time meandering the rows of apple trees searching for the perfect specimens. Our family prefers to take along a picnic basket filled with our favorite foods — chicken salad, crispy veggies, cheese chunks, and buttery crackers. Just in case the orchard we’ve chosen doesn’t have any picnic tables, we bring along our portable chairs — comfort is a must. Once we finish our picnic, we can kick back in our chairs and take in the crisp, clean pre-autumn air.
Orchards may not always have restaurants, but it’s not uncommon for them to sell baked goods containing the very treasure you came to pick from the trees. Apple pies, apple dumplings, and — our favorite — apple cider doughnuts provide the perfect accompaniment to our delicious picnic lunch.
At the end of the day, with bags of apples and packages of pies in hand, we head home with full and happy tummies until Apple Month rolls around again next September.
