What did I learn this week

This year I have been making an effort to learn something new every week and try to stay out that rut that we all seem to slip into every now and again. Well maybe not you, but, there are times when I find myself doing pretty much the same thing on a most regular basis.

So, as I  sat on my front porch watching the world go by ,I picked up my favorite magazine

 MARY JANE FARMS  knowing that I would be sure to find a piece of knowledge that would be most useful to me.Nothing complicated,just some useful bit of information.

Of course there was much to learn but, here is what made me stop in my tracks. Just a small article that asked the question "HOW OLD IS THAT APPLE?" I was introduced to Kristen Michaelis of

FOOD RENAGADE she helps guide people  back to real food by educating them on the handling and processing that our market foods my have endured. When we started eating we had one new food introduced at a time...........I think it's best to re educate ourselves the same way. She has brought it to my attention that most apples at the market are at least 1 year old.They are picked before fully ripe ....sprayed with a chemical preservative, waxed , boxed, and refrigerated till they are called upon to make their appearance at the local grocers.Needless to say the much sought after antioxidants that we are hoping to ingest are long gone by the time we purchase the lovely fruit. What to do? Find a local farm that will let you pick your own. Enjoy the fruit while in season. Make a few quarts of applesauce to tide you over till the next fresh fruit is available. Not sure you have a farm? Check with THIS website They can get  started on your quest for real food. Or , call your local 4H club. They will be so happy to hear from you.

Well, the simple apple has taken me down a road that should make my great grandparents give me an approving nod. That would be them, so proud of their new home when they left Michigan and came to New Hampshire. The smiling daughter on the left is my grandmother..........year is possibly 1900/1904 Note the gun in his hand. I'm guessing no one would sell him a bad apple...........said the hobbit