Every September I am so excited for the chance to cook and bake with apples. Truthfully there is nothing that I do not like about the apple tree. From the flowers in Spring, the chance to climb them, the fruit they offer and the wood use later for smoking, this tree is awesome.

This September is no different from any other year for the apple anticipation that I experience. However, this year I was pleasantly surprised to discover neighbors who have apple trees with an abundance of apples. Hooray! Did I mention that these neighbors are generous and deliver these apples by the bushel to my door? Double hooray! Some of the smaller, gnarly apples go straight to the pigs, but most of them are being used in our kitchen which is just wonderful. 

What could seem like a simple but thoughtful gesture has turned into many moments of joy spent with our daughter teaching her my recipes, cutting, peeling and preparing tasty apple treats. Her brother prefers apples cored and cut for immediate consumption, whereas she seems to gain a similar joy as me when doing prep work thinking about the “tummy hug” to come. Apples given generously and then prepared with love and joy. Further endearing me to the apple tree.