A is for Apple

Yahoo! Fall is here. Not only my favorite season weatherwise, but the Michigan girl in me is thrilled with crisp, crunchy, tart and sweet apples. And today I found a bushel-full! 

This morning, slightly foggy and not-too-warm, was the perfect morning to run into two of my favorite people: Mr. and Mrs. Stabile of Hillview Farm are back at the Cupertino Farmer's Market (Vallco) with hundreds of delicious apples. And cider! Oh, I can't wait to warm up this cider and enjoy college football this weekend.

After 25 years at IBM, Joe 'retired' to life as a hard-working farmer in Watsonville. He and his wife grow over 200 varieties of apples, and share them with us. How lucky are we?

Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gravenstein, McIntosh, Granny Smith, Pink Pearl, Honeycrisp, Pippin. YUM!  Not only are these real salt-of-the-earth folks, they are educators. I've learned more from them about apples in the last few years through Friday mornings at the Vallco market than I did growing up with apple trees in the neighborhood.

I have a much better idea of what to leave on the table (or put into lunchboxes) for munching, and what to bake with. Mr. and Mrs. Stabile are more than happy to share bits of apple to taste-test, if you're not sure what you're looking for. My kids have loved taste-testing their apples for years. What a great way to introduce kids (and adults) to something new, healthy, and delicious.

Thank you, Stabiles, for sharing the fruits of your labors with us. They are a wonderful taste of Fall!

For more information about Hillview Farms, check out this fun video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuGbmcVgl5Y