{"id":440,"date":"2011-10-17T00:06:05","date_gmt":"2011-10-17T04:06:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eatcooklive.com\/?p=440"},"modified":"2011-10-17T09:19:52","modified_gmt":"2011-10-17T13:19:52","slug":"autumn-breeze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eatcooklive.com\/?p=440","title":{"rendered":"Autumn Breeze"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It is officially autumn here in the Tundra, and I’m loving it. You pretty much have to appreciate fall if you live in Minnesota because the winters are a test of will for even the hardiest of Scandanavian descendents. The spring is always wet and muddy as the piles of snow melt away, so if you’re no fan of fall then you’re pretty much stuck with just June, July and August. I was able to get out to a local Park last week and do some hiking and the crisp air and beautiful foliage really got me into the mood to enjoy fall and all it offers.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite things about fall is the apple crop in Minnesota. Apples are one thing we do pretty damn well. The University of Minnesota has a long history<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0of introducing new varieties of apples and they’re all pretty good. My favorites are definitely the Zestar and the Fireside apples for eating raw. And with all the apples coming ripe in early-mid fall, there is apple cider everywhere you look around here. I’m somewhat surprised that I’ve never before tried to make a drink with apple cider considering how much I fiddle around with making random cocktails, but no time like the present, right? I don’t have a whole lot of experience in making new cocktail recipes which can be recreated by others. so here goes the first try:<\/p>\n