Refreshing Apple Shrub Syrup

It's heating up outside, and this apple shrub syrup, or drinking vinegar, infused with mint and fennel is a refreshing way to beat that heat. To enjoy, combine 1 part shrub syrup with 3 to 4 parts sparkling water and serve over ice. Shrub syrups are also a fun and creative way to bring a signature cocktail to life—it is wedding season, after all!

A way of preserving fruit after the harvest in Colonial times, sweet and tangy drinking vinegars are a fantastic way to enjoy the pure spirit of your favorite fruit any time of the year. Fresh herbs and whole spices will add another layer of flavor to your syrups, as will experimenting with different types of vinegar.

Apple Bacon Stuffing

This past October, I once again had the chance to take part in a fun and informative blogger event hosted by Michigan Apples. This time we met in the fabulous Grand Rapids Downtown Market and cooked up an apple-lovers storm in one of their kitchens. I partnered up with the fabulous Lori of Foxes Love Lemons, and together we made a Michigan Apple and Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Pork Jowl Garnish and Cider-Glazed Chicken with an Apple Raisin Stuffing.

Cranberry Apple Crumb Pie #FridayPieDay

Not only is today FridayPieDay, it's also the day after Thanksgiving, a holiday with a dessert table that centers around pie in my family. This year we had a mid-size gathering at my mom's house—just mom, her kids, and our kids which makes 15 people total. And yet, we still wound up with 5 pies. 3 people to a pie.

It's funny because there was only 1 pie and 1 cake scheduled in the initial "plan". We'd all volunteered to bring certain dishes and apparently all decided, individually, that 1 pie just wasn't going to cut it. And who knows what happened to the cake because it wound up being a no-show.

Fruit and Family on the Ridge: Youngquist Farms | #MichiganApples

Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a Michigan Apple Blogger tour, hosted by the Michigan Apple Committee. It took place in Grand Rapids and the surrounding area, on what could not have been a more perfect representation of an autumn day in Michigan.

Let me back it up a few steps to tell you why I was (still am) extra excited about this opportunity. First and foremost, though I live in Indiana now (but literally just a stone's throw—or should I say apple's throw—over the border), I will always be a Michigan-girl at heart. I grew up in Michigan (coincidentally in the same area that the tour took place). I attended (the best) college in Michigan. And yes, I still hold up my hand to reference where I live, even though I have to point to the top of my wrist nowadays.

Plus, my family probably eats double our weight in apples every year—so yeah, there's that. Since we aim to eat local produce as much as possible (unless we're craving tropical or citrus), my youngest son is forever asking me if it's apple season. Fortunately, with the development of Controlled Atmosphere Storage, that makes apple season (sort of) last eleven months of the year. But that's something we'll talk about in my next installment of the #MichiganApples series. Today, it's all about where the apples begin...the orchard! So yes, Michigan apples are available basically year-round, but there's something special about that roughly 7-week harvest window.