Eastern Star

The Eastern Star is an interesting multi-purpose apple.

This tree is in the Eastern orchard.

Golden Russet Apple

There were a few Golden Russet apples.  Probably originating in New York around 1800, Golden Russet is one of the great apples, excellent for cooking, dessert, apple juice and, due to its high acid and sugar content, cider.  It declined in popularity as consumers judged food visually instead of by taste.  Currently, along with other russets like Roxbury and Pomme Gris, enjoying a renaissance.

They are not very pretty.

In August, 2015, there are several trees with fruit.

This one needed to be propped up!

Here's one pendant.

Roxbury Russet Apple

We got a couple of Roxbury Russets.

Roxbury Russet, along with Rhode Island Greening, one of the two oldest named varieties native to the United States.  Also called, among other things, "Leather Coat," it sports an ugly skin, which contributes to its lack of eye appeal.  It has a high sugar content, and ferments to about 6% alcohol, which makes it a dandy cider apple.

The skin on this example is rough, and in this case lumpy.  Very crisp, juicy.

Sunny Asian Restaurant, Utica, NY

It was time to return to Utica to pick up our glasses.  That meant a lunch out!  We decided to try Sunny Asian Restaurant, 520 Albany Street, Utica, NY.

When we checked out the menu I saw that they had "Bubble Tea".  Now, I'd read about that and it sounded interesting  -  a new experience at least.  I ordered the Honeydew Bubble Tea.

It was delicious and fun and would be fantastic in the summer.

It's a honeydew flavored slurpy with "bubbles".  When I check wikipedia, it says the bubbles are tapioca.  These seemed to be completely flavorless navy blue balls of gummy bear.  It was fun!

The server brought fresh, crispy noodles and a sweet and spicy sauce.

D ordered shrimp with garlic sauce.  These were a handful of shrimp in an excellent sauce with vegetables.  The vegetables, cooked in the sauce, were al-dente, not crunchy, and had been in the sauce long enough to absorb the flavor.  D described the broccoli as the best he had ever eaten!

 

I chose the tofu with lemon grass.  There was quite a bit of ginger in it.  It was excellent.

The onions, peppers, and carrots were also well done - not raw.

(The shrimp on top was from D's plate.) 

I really enjoyed the bubble tea!

We will go back to Sunny Asian Restaurant the next time we go to Utica.

Autumn Foliage

The morning was foggy, but at dinnertime the sun came out.

This is the last of the Golden Queen and Cherokee Purple tomatoes.  We are still picking the heritage corn.


We took a ride to see the glories of fall.  It was a lovely adventure, but actually the best pictures were taken at home.

 On the following picture, you might notice the cages on the apple trees in an attempt to foil the deer.

The mornings have been foggy.  Makes for interesting effects.

And the moon has been spectacular.

This week is the last of the 70-degree weather.  Fifties and sixties next week.  Sigh.

But it has been a lovely fall.  

With no frost yet, we are still getting about two quarts of raspberries a week.  

These are Autumn Bliss raspberries.

We have lots of juice in the freezer!