Apples!

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of hiking Springer Mountain, where the Appalachian Trail begins, with my hubs and some great friends. It was perfect weather - crisp and sunny! I love the fall and one of my favorite things about it is APPLES! While we didn't have a plan to visit one of the fabulous apple markets of North Georgia, we made a special stop on the way back down the mountain toward Atlanta.

R & A Orchards (http://www.randaorchards.com/) runs a clean and lovely little apple market in Ellijay, GA. The market was bustling with activity when we arrived. There were more than a dozen different varieties of apples in the bins, pre-bagged and bag-your-own. Many of the apples were types I'd never heard of like Mutsu and Yates, but there were tried and true favorites too including Granny Smith, Red Delicious, and Pink Lady. I tasted several that I can't even remember the names of, but every one was delicious! What could I do, but load up my bag? I chose a variety of those listed above, large juicy and small tart apples filled the bag.

In addition to delicious apples, R & A sells a variety of preserves, jellies, chutneys, sauces, and chow-chow. And of course, they sell apple cider and fried apple pie! I picked up a sampling of them all and we were back on the road to Atlanta. I ate 1/2 of my pie on the way home - it was yummy! Not low-fat, not healthy - can't even pretend, but it was delicious.

With my stash, I've been enjoying some fantastic and fresh apples. I've eaten a couple of the Pink Lady apples out of hand and today enjoyed a Rome Beauty with my mozzarella cheese stick as a snack. I used a combination to make fresh apple and cranberry muffins (delish!) - modifying the recipe for whole wheat flour to help bump up the nutrition.

Apples are high in fiber and provide a good dose of vitamin C, which might be why the old saying might hold a kernel of truth...An apple a day, keeps the doctor away! I plan to stay healthy this fall and winter and I'll keep apples on the menu.