I can no longer count the number of hours I have spent inching west on U.S. 2 after a weekend in the mountains. The all-too-familiar traffic jam is exactly where I found myself after a weekend away in August. Every few miles, I noted familiar landmarks and then returned to my daydreaming.
Suddenly something I had never noticed before caught my eye and I found myself wondering all about our state’s official fruit.
Somewhere between Gold Bar and Sultan, I realized I was looking at tree after tree full of apples. Some of the trees were in yards, others on the edges of fields or near the side roads outside sagging fences. All were strikingly swollen with fruit. They weren’t tiny crab apples either. From my vantage point in the car I could see some apples were as big as softballs.
At first the trees were scattered. As we continued I realized that the area a now divided into small residential and larger commercial properties must have once been a single sprawling orchard. Usually, when I think about Washington apple orchards, my mind goes to the large-scale growers east of the mountains. Of course, apples grow in abundance across our fertile state. Every fall, just before the air turns from balmy to crisp, signs in the markets announce the arrival of the new crop.
When these now-overgrown trees along U.S. 2 were planted, the fruit was intended to be crunched, bite after sweet bite; or better yet to be peeled, chopped and cooked into comforting recipes. I wondered if anyone would be harvesting the nearly ripe apples or if the fruit was merely part of an unstoppable cycle of ripening and rotting. I hoped for the former but based on the neglected state of the ground under the trees I guessed that only bugs feast upon many of the apples.
A few years ago, my aunt and uncle invited me to help myself to the apples growing in their front yard. Their trees produce excellent all-purpose Jonagold apples, which means they are a great choice for cooking as well as munching raw. It turns out that picking apples for home use is a joyful undertaking. Their apples are especially wonderful to harvest because the job comes with a stellar view of Puget Sound. I was delighted to find it only takes a few minutes to fill a few shopping bags or a large laundry basket.
In my own kitchen, I mix a crate of Granny Smith (naturally high in pectin) and one or two other varieties with the just-picked Jonagolds and then get to work canning applesauce, jam, jelly and chutney. When I get tired of standing over a hot stove, I look for new recipes that incorporate apples into our everyday eating. Both the apple pico de gallo and cast-iron pork chop recipes here originated as playful experiments with apples.
Of course, those apple trees I was musing on may not be forgotten remnants of the past after all. It is possible they continue to feed people just as they have done for 50, 70, even 100 years. Eager home cooks like myself could very well be counting the days until the fruit reaches its peak of ripeness. What if, at the very moment I was eulogizing the loss of trees still standing, someone was sorting through canning jars in preparation for this year’s spiced apple jelly and quarts of applesauce before checking their supply of flour and lard in anticipation of holiday pies?
I do my best to be mindful of the journey food takes to arrive on my table. Whenever possible I buy food directly from farms at farmers markets and, when possible, visit the farms themselves. Even with this attitude of mindfulness I forget how recently the area now occupied by the rapidly sprawling suburbs of Snohomish County was farmland. The farms may be disappearing, but if you keep your eyes open you will discover reminders of the fertile land all around us.
Cast-iron pork chops
4 boneless pork chops, 1 inch thick
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cooking oil with a high smoke point such as grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon butter, unsalted
In a small bowl, blend the smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle mixture over both sides of the pork chops. Let the seasoned pork chops rest for 15-30 minutes.
When the chops have rested, heat the oil in a large cast iron or heavy bottomed skillet to medium-high heat. Use tongs to place the chops in the pan. Cook the chops until a golden seared crust has formed: 3 minutes per side for medium, 5 minutes for well done. Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of the pork chops.
Place a quarter of the butter on each pork chop, turn off the heat, and cover the pan loosely with a tent of aluminum foil (do not cover with a lid). After five minutes remove the pan from the heat and let the meat rest under the foil tent for at least 10 additional minutes before slicing or serving.
Prep: 30 minutes; cook: 15 minutes. Yield: 4 servings
Apple pico de gallo
2 cups diced Granny Smith apple, ¼ inch cubes
½ cup diced white onion
½ cup cilantro leaves, chopped
¼ cup fresh lime juice
1 small jalapeno, minced, approximately 3 tablespoons
1 tablespoon agave
1/8 teaspoon salt
Stir together all the ingredients and let the pico de gallo sit for 15 minutes up to overnight before serving.
Pico de gallo will keep refrigerated for several days.
Prep: 15 minutes. Yield: 2 ½ cups
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