This post marks the first of what are sure to be many devoted to apples. I managed to bypass the glossy red and green orbs at the grocery store all summer long, preferring to wait for my favorite fall fruit to be in season.  I don’t have my own recipe to share with you quite yet, but I have included some photos from a recent apple picking outing with friends, as well as a few pictures of a crustless Apple Streusel Pie I made with part of my bounty (recipe by one of my favorite bloggers).

This past weekend, my friend and fellow apple enthusiast Shannon arranged a Boston blogger + friends event at Smolak Farms, a scenic “pick your own” farm about 45 minutes north of the city. Other blogger attendees included Elina, Nicole, Kerstin and Kelly.  Shannon’s friend Rebecca, Elina’s friend Katy, Kelly’s boyfriend, and Kerstin’s husband joined in on the festivities.

Despite an overcast sky and an irritating sore throat/cough, I had a great time searching for and picking about 10 pounds of Macoun, Cortland, Macintosh, and Granny Smith apples.

There were plenty of taste tests…

…which instantly transported me back to childhood when my family used to go apple picking. Some of my favorite family photos are of the four us (my mom, dad, older brother, and myself) crouched beneath the low-hanging branches, apples in hand and grinning in the dappled sunshine dribbling through the lush leaves. Although the trees appear much smaller now that I’m grown, the excitement of filling a bag with freshly picked apples has not dwindled.

I inquired about the farm’s growing practices, and though the apples from Smolak aren’t organic, they are sprayed with 25% less pesticides than those at most orchards. Apples are typically on the top of my list of produce to buy organically, but I made a concession for these locally grown beauties.

I picked just enough Granny Smiths to make…

Hannah’s crustless Apple Streusel Pie from her ecookbook Mission: Impossible Pies, which I baked just a few hours after returning home from the orchard.

This scrumptious and comforting dessert was a perfect hybrid of apple pie and apple crisp.

Slightly tart Granny Smiths are ideal in pies, and these incredibly fresh green apples paired beautifully with the thick applesauce batter and crumbly brown sugar streusel topping.

I couldn’t have chosen a better first dish to make with my stash of apples.  What to make next?