An apple a day... and you know the rest

It's apple season - finally! August was a bit painful when it came to picking fruit - the seasonal summer fruits were waning and seemed better fit for baking than for eating fresh (not that I'm complaining about eating peach-blueberry crisp or strawberry bread). Or maybe I was just excited for the apples to hit supermarket shelves and that's why all the blueberries tasted sour. So now that they're here, I've begun hoarding... Two weeks ago I visited Stribling Orchard in Markham, VA and stocked up on MacIntosh, Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples. Today I paid a visit to Hollabaugh Orchard in Biglerville, PA and acquired some more Honeycrisps, as well as a few Jonagolds and Galas. And I now over nearly 30 pounds of fresh picked apples in my refrigerator.

Apples are great because they keep so well in the 'fridge - after 40 days in the produce drawer, many apples will still taste fresh, as long as they haven't been stored next to onions which leave a lasting impression on any fruit. But if you think that you'll never make it through 30 pounds of apples in 40 days, they're also a very versatile fruit that can be used in main dishes just as easily as desserts.

So what am I going to do with 30 pounds of apples? Many will be eaten out of hand, especially the Honeycrisps, which are almost too delicious to use in any recipe - a cross between a Macoun and Honeygold, biting into one is like taking a sip of fresh apple cider. But the Macs made a delicious crisp (that was not watery, thank you very much) and the Granny's were perfect in Sunday's apple-oatmeal pancakes. Tomorrow I think I'll try apple-bacon popovers for breakfast and chicken apple curry for dinner.

Now accepting must-have apple recipes - send them my way if you got 'em!