Apples, Apples, Apples

Reppin' K-State!  This was the weekend we beat KU!

We went apple picking the other week!

I'm a bit determined when it comes to apple picking, and by determined I mean that nothing will stop me.  Let's see, last year I even dragged my ex around an apple orchard for over an hour.  I picked a whole bag of apples, I think he picked 10 . . .

Anyway, we picked an entire bushel of apples and ever since them I've been trying to think of ways to use them up!  I've made apple pie, apple bread, and used them in salads.  My favorite way to use them is to juice them for fresh apple juice or apple and spinach juice or apple and beet greens juice, although I'm the only one who drinks that last one ;)

I'm also a bit picky when it comes to my apples.  They are ALWAYS on the "Dirty Dozen" list because of the pesticides that get on the skins.  I get it, trust me, it's hard to grow fruit and veggies!  Bugs eat them all the time and apples are some of the hardest so I understand the use of pesticides but that doesn't mean I want to eat the pesticides.  So I peel all the apples I use.

And when you're using a massive bowl of apples like this, peeling all of them takes a long, loooooong time.  So long in fact that by the time you're finished peeling the apples all you want to do is curl up on the couch and eat chocolate to celebrate the fact that you finished peeling the never ending bowl of apples.  Forget about the apple pie you were going to make, that can wait until you've recovered!

See the massive bowl of peeled apples and the massive pile of peels?  Took.  Me.  Forever!

This one took just as long.  Sheesh the things I do for people.

I was even using Sarah's super nifty peeler.

So I ordered this awesome contraption.  We used to have one and the design hasn't changed one bit.  They sell lots of these on Amazon from different sellers and every single one of them looks exactly the same.  Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Here's how you work it:

Use the lever on the bottom to suction cup it to the counter.

See how strong the seal is?  It's literally lifting the cutting board off the counter right now!  (Just make sure the bottom and the counter are completely dry or it won't suction cup itself)

Then press the lever back and pull the rod back.

Now you have room to stick an apple on the three tines.

Hey look, you can see into the living room in this picture!

This thing-a-mo-bobber is used to slice and core the apples as you peel them.  I didn't want sliced apples at this point.

So you turn the winged-nut thingy (I don't know what it's called but you turn it and it loosens things and I'm too lazy to look it up on the internet right now).

And just swing the thing-a-mo-bob down so it's out of the way.

This is the part of the contraption that peels the apples (or potatoes).  You can move it back and forward depending on how thick the skin is.

Alright, step one: impale the apple forcibly on the three tines.  Be VERY careful not to impale your hand on the tines instead!  This will only be a problem for you if you're like me and close your eyes during impact.  This is also why I never played softball . . .

Anywhoo

Turn the crank on the back until your apple reaches the front and just keep cranking!

The peel will start to come off in a long ribbon.

Pretty peeled apple in an inordinately short amount of time!  Boy and I a happy girl  right about now!  (lol I hope you liked that play on words, I did that just for you ;)  )

Big pile of apple peels and peeled apples in HALF THE TIME!

Did I mention that the apple peels come off in really long strips?  Because they do.  It makes no difference to anything in the world, I just thought I'd mention that the apples peel strip is super long.  It is the longest on large apples.  Bet you couldn't have figured that one out on your own!  Did you ever have contests with yourself and try to get the entire orange peel off in one piece?  I did and I never succeeded until I peeled a clementine.  Which isn't an orange.  So I guess I still lost.  To myself. 

MOVING ON!

Sorry.

Btw, freshly picked peeled apples oxidize (turn brown) A LOT faster than store bought apples.  So don't freak out if your apples turn brown sooner rather than later, it's normal.

Once the apples are all peeled, slice them in half.  We now have to core them.  "We" meaning "I".

I used to core apples the Rachel Ray way.  She'd just take a knife and slice diagonally down through the apple 1/4 and get rid of the core.  It was fast, it was easy, and no core was left.  The problem with this method is that it also sliced off a bunch of good apple too.

 So I recently started using a melon baller (or grape fruit spoon) to scoop out only the core. 

See the difference?  The melon baller only took out the yucky core and the knife cut away perfectly usable parts of the apple!

A nice, big bowl of apples all peeled and cored, just waiting for me to use them in lots of yummy ways :)

Go out and pick some apples and keep that doctor away! (or keep yourself away from that doctor because I doubt any of us know a doctor that makes house calls anymore . . .)

<3 B