Water Wine Travel™

Big P and my friends have been very supportive of my blogging – with one exception – no one wants their picture posted.  I don’t understand it…it’s not like I am selling adult toys (yet), revealing deep personal secrets (never!) or posting their photos on Facebook (actually I am doing that.) Big P has asked that I not blog about him or post photos of him or our kids. He has given me permission to photograph and blog about our cat, Buttons. Unfortunately, Buttons does not travel, drink wine or do anything interesting besides sleep.  Buttons is the son of a feral cat that gave birth at my office. He is completely white and I am completely allergic to him.

We came out to the Hamptons yesterday. Traffic was pretty light but I was surprised to see how many people were in town on a fall weekend.  During the summers, the roads are jammed with vacationers and locals.  The fall on the South Fork tends to have a slower pace.  We do fewer rentals in the off season and enjoy spending time in our garden (the kids starting growing their own vegetables last spring), tending to minor maintenance issues and just relaxing as a family.

The kids enjoy apple picking so we headed  out to Water Mill’s Seven Ponds Orchards for an afternoon of fruit picking, hayrides, corn mazes and just great family fun.  I saw the CASH ONLY sign and ended up borrowing money from Olive.  For seven dollars (or in my case a nice smile to someone who is leaving), your kid gets a paper bracelet that gives them access to the hayrides, on site playground and corn maze. Technically, unless they are 14 or over, they have to be accompanied by an adult but the attendant sort of looked the other way – and we let them have their way and go ahead alone.  “No one ever gets lost except that one kid who ended up on the highway.”  Was that supposed to be reassuring?  Since I had  “volunteered” to do the hayride with the kids, Olive took over in the corn maze.  I don’t do mazes.   I did one years ago in Southampton. We had to find Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.  The corn was so tall we got confused.  Imagine how angry your husband gets when you get lost in the car.  Big P was fuming. Not only were we lost in ears of corn but he had to carry our two year old the whole time.

We ended up with 4 bags of apples, mostly Gala, McIntosh, HoneyCrisp,  Cortland and Fuji.   I owe Olive $40, my sanity (no maze for me)  and my Apple Crisp Recipe

Ann’s Apple Crisp

9 or 10 McIntosh Apples cored, peeled and thinly sliced

Juice of one lemon

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

5 tablespoons of  unsalted butter

Mix apples, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, one tablespoon of brown sugar and juice of one lemon. Butter a 9 inch baking pan and place apples in it. In a food processor add flour, remaining cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, oats, brown sugar, and butter and pulse to a crumbly texture. The topping is placed over the apples and baked for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  Serve hot with vanilla ice cream – or if you are an adult who went apple picking with three kids – a nice glass of  Reisling – I like Leitz Out from Germany.  Enjoy!