McPherson's Orchards
Ever since we headed west from New Berlin, NY and the Golden Paint Factory we have been in the magical land of bi-colored corn and unbelievable apples and fry-cakes. Also acorn squash (Where did I put my brown sugar, maple syrup and chopped pecans?), bosc pears like wine and yellow squash and zucchini, (Sauté in butter and olive oil for a few minutes and eat). The fresh food between the Finger Lakes and Rochester is sooo good. Same for the wine and cheese.
We stayed at Frost Ridge Campground from mid-September until the end of the first week in October. It was in an old apple orchard next to a former ski slope and a beautiful place to be.
Just over the hill, Marny Cleere, a ninth
generation apple grower, bakes delicious
apple pies all week in the Tree to Tin
Bakery in McPherson Orchards. The
orchards and farm stand have been her
family since the early 1800s.
On Saturdays and Sundays her photogenic husband, David, comes in and makes (NOT to be confused with donuts!) Hot Fresh Fry Cakes. All weekend long his batches of batter are extruded from a machine and fried in deep fat. A half dozen is 7 cakes. Three for Bernie, three for Peggy and one for Sully. Family and friends stand around and eat them hot out of the machine.
Thursday night is apple peeling night. Before they purchased their marvelous machine they used to hand-peel enough apples for 50 pies. The baked gods are sold from a shelf outside the bakery door. They are usually picked up as quickly as they come out of the oven.
Once we got there early enough to purchase an apple crisp made from Marny's grandmother's recipe. Recipe says it serves six. Still warm, we split it with our coffee. Apple Crisp Recipe. (Recipe Below)
We bought and ate a lot of apples and even made mocrowave applesauce (Recipe below) several times.
Marny's Apple Crisp
- 4 cups apples, sliced
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup flour
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
Place apples in an 8 x 8 x 2 square baking pan. Sprinkle apples with water, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, use a pastry blender to mix the sugar, flour and butter. Pour mixture over apples. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serves 6.
Microwave Apple Sauce
- 7 cups cut up apples (Cortlands are good)
- 1/2 Cups apple cider
- 1/3 cup sugar
- I sprinkle on whole bunch of cinnamon because I love it
Stir, cover and microwave on high. I do 5 minutes, stir than 4 minutes. Mash with fork and eat with spoon. Try to save enough to serve with a Pork Roast that evening
