VeganMoFo: apple mania

Our favorite nursery (well, the only one we've stumbled upon, but continue to revisit because it's like a botanical garden you can shop in), Portland Nursery, is hosting its annual apple tasting event. It was our first time and we had no idea what to expect. I read that there'd be lots of school groups in the afternoon, so we tried to go early, but there was no escaping the little ones. Really, the event seems very geared towards kids, except kids aren't going to be buying apples. We enjoyed it all the same. Here's a bucket of fresh cider (there's nothing quite like cider from a plastic pail).

We really shouldn't have had two cups of cider (mini cups at that), because we weren't ready for the onslaught of apples in the tasting area. It wasn't the most hygienic thing thanks to the aforementioned kids (we encountered a girl in line who literally had snot dripping out of her nose), but we pushed all germ-phobic thoughts aside and powered through. Our top-rated apples were Ambrosia, Cameo, Melrose, Natco #90, Newtown Pippin, Northern Spy, and Rubinette. We skipped the apples we were already familiar with (you can't go wrong with Fuji) and still managed to try 40 different kinds, plus some pears and apple pears. We bought a few of our tasting favorites (how can you not at 89 cents/lb!), but were feeling a little woozy afterward and I honestly don't know when I'll have the stomach to eat another apple. I guess there really can be too much of a good thing!