Coming Labor Day…..

Pig Roast and family fun day!!! We look forward to having everyone come out and join us for family fun day! A day filled with old fashion games and a pig roast dinner with all the fixins!

We start the fun at 12:00 p.m. and ends at 8:00 p.m. the price of tickets will be $8.00 adults and $4.00 children. We hope you will come and join us!

A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales will go toward Tony’s Heart. A fundraiser for Tony Hartwick son of Dee Porter.

Hey, do you have a live music band that would enjoy a little exposure while engaging in community enrichment at the same time? Call us up! Porter’s Orchard would like to have family-oriented live music on the weekends during the Fall, our busiest season. You get the exposure and our visitors and their families get the benefit of your music! Call (810) 636-7156 and ask for Dee or Ray Porter. Come play with us!

A rose by any other name might be … an apple!  What?  Yes, apples are a member of the rose family. Apples, quinces, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries — whether wild or cultivated — are all relatives of the roses.

Apple Fun Facts

The pilgrims planted the first United States apple trees in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Two pounds of apples make one 9-inch pie.
Apple blossom is the state flower of Michigan.
It takes the energy from 50 leaves to produce one apple.

Apples are Michigan’s largest and most valuable fruit crop, with a value of about $100 million annually to the apple grower.  There are over 7.5 million apple trees in commercial production, covering 37,000 acres, on 950 family-run farms throughout Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.  Michigan harvested approximately 903 million pounds (21.5 million bushels) of apples in 2006.

Wow!  That’s a lot of apples!

Small family farmers (like us!) who operate their own orchards dominate the Michigan apple industry. According to statistics, 99 percent of Michigan orchards had fewer than 100 acres in apples.

We are proud to be part of the Michigan apple industry.

Apples have influenced  in more ways than just for food.  Throughout history, apples have been used to symbolize human emotions and temptations through religion, mythology and folktales. Love, beauty,health, passion, knowledge, immortality, sexuality, pleasure and wealth have all been linked to apples. The irresistibility and desire of fruit has coincided with conflict, marriage, sin and paradise.

The legend of Johnny [Appleseed] tells of a man of solidarity and peace, who traveled throughout Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and Ohio planting trees and apple orchards. Johnny carried very little with him, wore no shoes and wore a metal cooking pan atop his head. His kind and gentle nature was noticeable to all those around him.

It is also said the Sir Isaac Newton began research into his theories on gravitation after watching an apple fall from a tree. With these wide-ranging stories of legend, myth and imagination, it appears that man’s fascination with apples in particular, extends far beyond the many varieties and uses that accompany this fascinating fruit.

Read more of this fascinating article about the
history of apples on the Michigan Apple Committee website!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3 Cups Flour                                                                 2 Cups Sugar

1 tsp. Cinnamon                                                          3 Eggs

1 tsp. Cloves                                                                 2 Cups Pumpkin

1 tsp. Nutmeg                                                               1 Cup Chopped Nuts

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda                                                  1 tsp. Vanilla

1 Cup Oil

Sift together the Flour, Cinnamon, Cloves, Nutmeg and Baking Soda.

Then add the Pumpkin and Chopped Nuts.

In another bowl mix Oil, Sugar, Eggs and Vanilla.

Then pour in the first mixture, and mix well.

Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

It’s yummy!

7  Tart Apples  (or mix varieties)
Dash Nutmeg
3/4 Cup Sugar
Dash Salt
2 Tbls. Flour
2 Tbls. Butter
1 tsp. Cinnamon
Pastry recipe for 2 crust 9 inch pie below.

Peel and core apples, slice thin and set aside.
Combine Sugar, Flour, Spices and Salt. Mix with Apples.
Line 9 inch pie plate with pastry.
Fill with Apple mixture and dot with Butter.
Apply top crust, adjust as needed and seal to bottom crust by fluting  or crimping edges. Trim off excess dough.
Bake in preheated  400 degree oven for 50 minutes.
Cover the  pie crust edges with foil, to prevent them from  getting too brown.

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Pie Crust

1  1/2  Cups Flour
1 tsp. Salt              * Small amount of extra Flour to roll out pie crust.*
2/3  Cup Lard or Crisco
1/3 Cup Ice Cold Water

Stir together Flour, Salt and Lard using a fork or Pastry Cutter until flaky.  Add Ice Cold Water a little at a time.  Mix together softly. Do Not Over Mix. ( makes crust tough)  Turn out onto a floured surface, and divide in half. Sprinkle each half  lightly with Flour.  Roll one half of dough into a 10 inch circle and coat lightly with Flour. This will be the bottom crust.  Turn floured side down into the pie plate. Press into sides and bottom smoothing out air bubbles.  Top crust can be rolled out and have designs cut out, or cut dough into strips and make  into a lattice.  Apply top crust and seal to bottom edges with a few drops of water.  Crimp closed with a fork or flute closed with your fingers.  Remember to make steam vents in the top crust to prevent juice boil overs.