Cider day, cider day...
G'day all!
Cider day almost sounds like Saturday, and it was both!
Busy day today. It was pretty much non-stop for the whole thing!
Seattle Modern Quilt Guild had a sew in at a near by church hall, so I popped up there for a while and sorted out some scraps, pressed them and started cutting 2.5 inch strips or squares - I'm going to make a scrap vomit quilt eventually. It turns out I don't have that many scraps - I tend to use up the fabrics and throw out any little remaining bits. Sacrilege, I know.... But still I got a few bits and pieces sorted and cut in a couple of hours.
Then I toddled home and saw that the guys (aka R and DH) were happily working out how to put the skylight in so I left them to that and popped up the hill to visit a "neighbour" who was going to spend the afternoon making apple cider.
My fellow Aussies (and Kiwis and Poms) will tell me that you cannot make apple cider in a day, you have to add the right sorts of yeasts and let it ferment.
Well the States does it differently.
Apple cider is the juice of crushed apples. If it is alcoholic, it is called hard cider.
Our new friend up the road has a cider press. He also has an apple tree that somewhat over bears and has so many apples that even the codling moth and apple maggots can't keep up with the apples.
Anyway, I went up the road to help with the picking. See all these apples?
Spartan is the variety. Lots and lots of them, mostly pretty small cos the tree does bear heavily if not thinned and a few good eating apples amongst them. I think we picked at least four baskets of apples and 3/4 filled a big wheely bin with the pressings. The apples are washed in bleach/dishwashing liquid first, rinsed well and then crushed. The whole apple goes in the chipper/masher, codling moth and all. They just add protein!
We also threw some quinces in for good luck - the quinces were how we met our neighbour, B - and they really add depth and zing to the flavour of the juice. We may have brought home a gallon of quince/apple juice and a gallon of apple juice, along with a few quinces and a handful of apples.
We also met some more "neighbours" - locals who B knows. It was interesting to find out what different things they are into and what similar things they like.
Along the way, I popped home to have R and DH sample some apple juice and check out the progress on the skylight. Last I looked we had a hole.
Then off to the pressing again and another "neighbour" offered some plants that needed a bit of dividing, so now we have a big chunk of siberian iris to plant in the front yard and maybe some penstemons if I remembered to bring them home.
And finally to top off a big big day, the huge bank of cloud that came over us cleared away enough to give me this:
All in all a great day!
anon!
Cider day almost sounds like Saturday, and it was both!
Busy day today. It was pretty much non-stop for the whole thing!
Seattle Modern Quilt Guild had a sew in at a near by church hall, so I popped up there for a while and sorted out some scraps, pressed them and started cutting 2.5 inch strips or squares - I'm going to make a scrap vomit quilt eventually. It turns out I don't have that many scraps - I tend to use up the fabrics and throw out any little remaining bits. Sacrilege, I know.... But still I got a few bits and pieces sorted and cut in a couple of hours.
 |
| Strips, waste and squares! |
Then I toddled home and saw that the guys (aka R and DH) were happily working out how to put the skylight in so I left them to that and popped up the hill to visit a "neighbour" who was going to spend the afternoon making apple cider.
 |
| Hole in ceiling. No hole in roof, yet. |
My fellow Aussies (and Kiwis and Poms) will tell me that you cannot make apple cider in a day, you have to add the right sorts of yeasts and let it ferment.
Well the States does it differently.
 |
| Fresh cider! |
Apple cider is the juice of crushed apples. If it is alcoholic, it is called hard cider.
 |
| The business end of the cider press |
Our new friend up the road has a cider press. He also has an apple tree that somewhat over bears and has so many apples that even the codling moth and apple maggots can't keep up with the apples.
 |
| That is one trippy/weird shot! |
Spartan is the variety. Lots and lots of them, mostly pretty small cos the tree does bear heavily if not thinned and a few good eating apples amongst them. I think we picked at least four baskets of apples and 3/4 filled a big wheely bin with the pressings. The apples are washed in bleach/dishwashing liquid first, rinsed well and then crushed. The whole apple goes in the chipper/masher, codling moth and all. They just add protein!
We also threw some quinces in for good luck - the quinces were how we met our neighbour, B - and they really add depth and zing to the flavour of the juice. We may have brought home a gallon of quince/apple juice and a gallon of apple juice, along with a few quinces and a handful of apples.
 |
| The squeezy end of the cider press. Didn't take a pic of the chipper part. It was busy doing scary stuff. |
We also met some more "neighbours" - locals who B knows. It was interesting to find out what different things they are into and what similar things they like.
 |
| Blue sky! A miracle! |
Along the way, I popped home to have R and DH sample some apple juice and check out the progress on the skylight. Last I looked we had a hole.
 |
| As soon as they got to the put the sticky stuff down and the flashing in, it started raining. Of course! |
Then off to the pressing again and another "neighbour" offered some plants that needed a bit of dividing, so now we have a big chunk of siberian iris to plant in the front yard and maybe some penstemons if I remembered to bring them home.
And finally to top off a big big day, the huge bank of cloud that came over us cleared away enough to give me this:
 |
| Another cracking sunset! Amazing! |
All in all a great day!
anon!
What a great day!! Home made cider must taste divine, especially with quinces thrown in. I hope you get a sky light in the hole before it rains.
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