gala

The morning brought heavy & welcome rains. Never ones to let the weather get the better of us, we piled into the car and headed to Hood River in search of some well-priced fruit for canning and preserving. The woman working at Smiley's Farm offered us the peaches that were "seconds" (meaning the bruised fruit or those with split pits) for a measly $7 for 20lbs --we took her up on 40lbs. We also scored 20lbs of early Bartlet pears for a good price. We stopped for a picnic, and as we ate the farmer loaded a pile of fresh Gala apples into a bin by the door. We got to talking and he told us they were the season's very first Galas, just picked less than 1 hour before. I bought one to savor the incredible freshness and as I munched I fended off the grasps of my little son who is curious about all things. Suddenly and without thinking overmuch about it, I decided to let him try the Gala. It would be his first food, and what a wonderful first food it was: crisp, tart, sweet -all the wonderful flavors of autumn.

He sunk his tiny two teeth in and snapped up the smallest bit of apple. His mouth puckered and his face took on a serious, studious cast. He was thinking about it -wondering what this food business was all about. He lunged in for another bite, and another. He was hooked.