September Apples

Happy First Day of September!  Today is Labor Day and I had a day off work--so my family went apple picking at Stribling Orchard in Markham, Virginia.

 

Just a quick little bit about the orchard:  It has been in the same family since the early 1800s (so six generations).  Some of the early outbuildings on the property still survive.

 From when I was a child and into my teens, my family visited this orchard every year to pick apples with some family friends.  My sister was very young the last time we went, and had been talking this summer about going again because she barely remembered it, so we decided to go today since everyone was off from work and the Macintosh apples (a family favorite) were ready for picking.

(picking applies with a pole)

 

There is a little store filled with all sorts of baked products, cider made of the apples grown here, jams and jellies, and apple wine.

 

 

 

The orchard is in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains.  Wouldn't this be a lovely spot to stop and have a little picnic?

 





Unfortunately it was very hot and muggy today, so a picnic was not on the agenda.  After about an hour of picking, we were more than ready to head back to air conditioning.

I did get some apple bread in the little store, however, and enjoyed a little afternoon snack when I got back home--apple themed of course!  I even lit an apple cider scented candle to fill the room with apple scents.

There is a plate full of freshly picked apples on one end of the table

and apple bread on the other.

I bought the plate the apple bread is on yesterday for only $2 at a flea market in an old red barn.  Here is a better look:

The thick gold around the edge of the plate has a design with little flowers:

This plate is Weimar china made in Germany.  I have been trying to look up the mark to see how old this plate might be, and it looks like it could date to potentially the late 1800s.  I definitely think this is a bargain for only $2!

But back to my late afternoon snack:

 

Here is a piece of the delicious apple bread on my Royal Albert Lady Hamilton plate (chosen for its pretty red border).  This bread brings back lots of fond memories.  My mother bought a recipe book from the orchard about 20 years ago that included the recipe for this bread.  She used to make it every fall after we went to pick apples--we would always get a ton and she would have to use some in baking.  She froze the cakes and later give them out as gifts at Christmastime.  I've asked her for the recipe (unfortunately, the orchard no longer sells the cookbook), so it may show up on here again sometime.

I also have a special tea to go with my apple cake--Apple Dumpling!  My aunt picked this up for me when she visited Everything Tea in Bedford, PA. 

 

This tea has a strong apple flavor and is the perfect end to my apple filled day!  The tea is plenty sweet on its own, but I do like to add a bit of sweetener.

 

Thanks for joining me today for tea and a trip down memory lane (or orchard, as the case may be)!

 

I'm linking to these tea parties:

 

Tea Time Tuesday at Rose Chintz Cottage

 Bernideen's Tea in the Garden

 Tea Cup Tuesday ~ http://www.marthasfavorites.com/
Tuesday Cuppa Tea~ http://www.antiquesandteacups.info/