Fall harvest

September came and went nearly without me noticing! I have been on "back to school" mode after a fantastic summer in the garden. The program I am taking (bachelor degree in social education) is very interesting. It is also challenging and demanding, but I still manage to spend a few hours outside every now and then. It's really good for the head after reading pages of theory. ;)

Fall is so beautiful and cosy in its own special way. Some trees and plants take on beautiful vibrant colours. Other plants just fade and wilt away. Many will sprout again next year with the next warm season.
The air is becoming cool and brisk, and warm blankets are just cosier and cosier. The land is getting ready for the cold season, but that doesn't mean that nothing is happening in the garden. Here's a few examples of what's been going on...

My chili plants gave a LOT of chilies (and still do!) so I made some chili oil (not shown on picture) and chose to hang some chilies to dry. (I also have a basket full apart from those shown here)

Chilies hanging to dry

One of my favorite part about Fall is winter squash harvest! They are just so pretty, delicious and healthy! My pumpkin plant gave 7 pumpkins and my hokkaido plant gave 3. I have been turning some of them into delicious Fall cream soup. There is a recipe *here*. I would also like to make one or two pumpkin pies, using my grandmother's recipe, which I was so lucky to have sent to me a couple of weeks ago!! :)

Pepo pumpkins (what I call "Halloween" pumpkin),  and small Hokkaido squash (also called Red Kuri squash)

Our apple tree was not very productive this year, but I was allowed to pick apples at my friends garden and came home with 7 kilos of huge delicious ones!

7 kilos of apples. A huge thanks to my friends :)

So on a nice Saturday afternoon, I set out to work peeling all this lot. 

I sat in the greenhouse to peel the apples. It was so comfortable out there. 

I then turned all this into yummy pies. I used the same recipe as I did last year. If you're curious, you can find it by clicking *here*.

yum!

Last year, I managed to bake 4 pies out of the apples from our apple tree. This year, the 7 kilos of apples allowed me to bake 8 pies!

Apple pie production 2013: 8!

The tomato plants in the greenhouse are currently maturing the few last fruits of the year. Despite some issues earlier in the season, where the tomatoes would rot before having time to mature, I harvested many delicious and healthy tomatoes and enjoyed many tomatoe-basil salads. 

I have also been clearing things out from the vegetable patch. Some things unfortunately were attacked by meldew, others were just done and ready to get cleared out. I however left some of the beans on the plant with the idea to let them dry. I will then harvest and keep the beans / seeds for use next year. Some of them I simply picked up and hung in the greenhouse to dry, as I was afraid they would rot before time if they were left outside. With the empty soil space, I followed my friend's advice and put down some plants I had that were still in pots. They will be better off spending the winter with their feet in full soil, and I can move them early next year before the patch is needed again for vegetables. 

The season is coming to an end, and I am already looking forward to the next season! Thankfully, it's only a few months of waiting, as the first sowing can happen indoor in february with chili plants!

Hmm, but until then, I'll have to take up my winter hobbies! :)

Canadian Apple Pies

What to do with a basket full of apples from your own garden? Apple pies of course! My mom used to bake a batch of them at Fall and freeze some for the holidays. Mmmmm it smelled so delicious in the house, and of course, tasted delicious too!!! For some reason, I had never baked them myself, so I thought it was about time I tried my hands at it.

My husband and I spent a lovely afternoon working on the project and managed to bake 4 beautiful pies with our own apples.

Canadian Apple Pies

Crust (for 1 pie)

- 250 g all purpose flour
- 125 g butter
- 2 eggs
- 100 g sugar
- a pinch of salt
- pie plate!

1 - Combine flour, butter and sugar in a big mixing bowl.
2 - Add the eggs and salt.
3 - kneed until smooth and flexible. You may need to add some flour if the dough is too sticky.
4- Wrap in waxed paper and plastic film and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 mins.
5 - When the dough has cooled down, roll half of it into a thin layer and carefully place inside the pie plate. Set aside.

Pie

- Apples (oops, I forgot to count my apples!)
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- 1/4 cup (about 60 ml) maple syrup (preferably Canadian, of course... )

1 - Peel and cut the apples into boats of about 1 cm at the thickest.
2 - Place the pieces in the pie plate / dough. The apples must fill and be higher than the side of the plate, as it will reduce during baking.
3 - Add grounded cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.
4 - Add the maple syrup.
5 - Sprinkle with a little bit of brown sugar.
6 - Roll the other half of the dough into a thin layer. Fold in half and make small cuts on the fold.
7 - Carefully lay to cover the pie.
8 - Press the sides all around with your finger or with a fork, for the bottom and top dough layers to close together.
9 - cut the excess dough.
10 - Brush milk everywhere on the crust.
11- Bake at 350 F (175 C) for about half an hour, or until the crust is golden.

Serve warm with a little bit of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!

Trick: Some apples make a lot of water. After about 20 mins of baking, take the pie out and pierce a little hole in the crust somewhere on the top and side (where the dough is pressed together) and tip it gently over the sink. If there is excess water, it will leak out. When that is done, stick the pie back in the oven for the extra 10 minutes or so. :)

Enjoy!