Unbearable Wholesomeness

We attended a party yesterday. This is a fairly notable event for us, as our social life was not exactly frantic even before we had a baby. And now that we do have the baby, who has to go to bed at 6:30 p.m., there is even less going out than there was before. Which is why I was so excited when Alyssa (remember Alyssa from the Pasta Making Adventure?) called and said she was having a cider-pressing party Sunday afternoon. And there would be soup and bread. And I didn't need to bring anything. And we would get to take some cider home.

A party in the early afternoon at which I get to eat without having to cook AND I can take home cider? I AM SO THERE.

Actually, we were all there--Cubby, A., and I. This was a family friendly event. So family friendly, in fact, that of the 18 people in attendance, six of those people were under the age of four. As a matter of fact, five of those people were under the age of two. That's a whole mess of babies. It was pretty amusing. Babies of all ages and sizes everywhere I looked.

But of course, we were really there to make cider. And LORD, were there a lot of apples to ciderfy.

Apples having a soak.

They weren't actually soaking in anything--the bathtub was just a handy place to store them.

Before cider is pressed out of the apples, the apples must first be all chewed up into a kind of mash. This is A. operating the crank on the chewing machine, with some assistants to cut apples into manageable pieces and feed the apples into the chewer.

I'm sure it has a technical name, but I like chewing machine. It sounds so tasty.

And here is the oldest of the children in attendance taking a turn at chewing up apples.


Plus, there was the promised soup (beef stew and a white bean and kale soup) and bread (OH such good homemade bread with butter--I ate like four pieces because I am a bread hog). Plus pork loin, sauerkraut and kielbasa, lemon meringue pie, and apple cake. I didn't take a picture because I was far too busy stuffing my face.

In fact, I didn't do much except eat at this party. Well, eat and sit on a blanket with Cubby.

A. spent most of the time cranking the actual cider press, which I seem to have failed to take a photo of. Though you can see it on the far left-hand side of the first photo with the apples in the bathtub. It has a big screw part that has to be wound to press down on the apples. So that's what A. did almost all afternoon. Although he did have a little time to hang with Cubby.

Why the sour face, Cubby?

Then, when there was still about half a bathtub full of apples, the metal plate that presses on the apples cracked right in two and Jodi (remember him from the Lumber Milling Adventure? He's Alyssa's husband) had to cut a new one out of an oak board. And then we had to go home because Cubby was in a catatonic state and looked about ready to collapse face-first into a vat of cider. So I'm not sure if they actually finished pressing all those apples.

But I came home with a gallon of cider, a quart of beef stew, and a very tired baby. Now that's what I call a party.