Hurd Orchards

Last week I visited my sister in Rochester, NY and she scheduled us for a luncheon visit to Hurd Orchards.  When we arrived we entered the sweetest little store you can imagine.  Baskets and dried flowers lined the roof and fresh apples, pears and quinces were piled everywhere.  They also sold fresh flowers cut from their fields right behind the store.  I couldn't get over their perfect orange dahlias!

Our lunch was a maple-themed lunch.  As you can see below they had decorated with a maple theme and all of the dishes served had maple elements.  I think my favorite part of the lunch was the spinach salad served with a fresh pear with blue cheese and walnuts drizzled with a maple-apple dressing (above right corner).  My sister loved the homemade muffins with pear-almond jam (directly above left).

The photo below does not do justice to the amazing, huge flower arrangements.  The red maple leaves and the gigantic dahlias were breathtaking!

I was truly impressed by the care and attention given to every detail of our lunch and the store was adorable. If you are ever near Rochester it is well worth a visit to this amazing family orchard.    They grow over 70 different varieties of apples and offer all sorts of different themed luncheons, including Appleblossom, Lilac, Peonies and Old Roses, and Blueberry Buckle Luncheons just to name a few.  But if you can't make it out there they also ship their apples and preserves.  Hopefully next summer we will return for another amazing, fresh feast.

“And when you crush an apple with your teeth, say to it in your heart:

Your seeds shall live in my body,

And the buds of your tomorrow shall blossom in my heart,

And your fragrance shall be my breath,

And together we shall rejoice through all the seasons.” 
- Kahlil Gibran