Quick Apple Dumplings

1 box packaged phyllo dough
1 stick butter
6 apples (larger, firmer variety better)
2 TBL cinnamon
1 cup organic brown sugar
¾ cup raisins
3 TBL butter

Follow package directions to thaw dough.
Peel and core apples, leave whole.
Mix cinnamon, sugar and raisins in bowl.
Melt 3 TBL butter and add to mixture.
Stuff the mixture into center of apples.
When all apples are filled, melt 1 stick butter in microwave.
Layer phyllo, 6 sheets per apple. Using pastry brush, brush each layer with melted butter.
Place filled apple in center and wrap up sheets to form a "blanket around apple and twist a "leaf" at the top.
Bake at 325 for 30 minutes.

Looking for a speaker about Whole & Healthy Foods for the family? To discuss and schedule, email me at michele.pasch@yahoo.com.
September 2010

Apple Days
By: Michele Pasch
apple dumplings homeschool learning
My standard response when someone asks me why I home school is, “Because I love field trips!” Being able to see first hand when children make new discoveries and to watch them feel a sense of wonder about the world is priceless.

Because so much of our human existence revolves around food everyday, it’s a win/win situation when a field trip and the healthy work of gathering our own food for our family combine. Kids know that apples grow on trees, and usually love picking them because it involves climbing ladders and getting into the tops of trees.

Expand your field trips past the outing experience:

  • Add Science by having them chart all types of varieties of apples at the orchard you visit. List the characteristics of each variety such as texture, taste, size and color.
  • Add Writing have them write a critique on which apple is their favorite, which they like the least and why?
  • Add Art by cutting apples in different cross sections and making prints with tempera paint on paper. The “star” of a cross-cut apple always amazes younger children.
  • Add Literature and Music by making a trip to the library and reading about Tall Tales such as Johnny Appleseed or research the term, “An Apple a day, keeps the doctor away.”
  • Add Health by creating a few healthy recipes that the kids can make on their own. Follow my recipe (with a bit of homemade cheating, the package Phyllo dough is too easy!) for Quick Apple Dumplings. This can be done completely by kids who are old enough to use an apple peeler. Even young children can use the counter attached-type peelers with guidance.

apple picking homeschool field trip
From Frederick County, home schoolers can take about an hour's drive to the National Apple Museum located at 154 West Hanover Street, Biglerville, PA. This is an excellent museum with informative displays. Their website also has a 35 page FREE teacher’s downloadable guide to teaching along with the exhibits. All the work has been done for you, just click and print. There are many orchards in Biglerville too, just visit www.pickyourown.org and put in the area.

And if you can't make the day trip for apple fun, orchards closer to home are also listed in the "pick your own" guide. Another useful resource can be found at www.allaboutapples.com.

Get out there in the early autumn sunshine and get picking!

Michele is a Maryland native and traveling homeschooling mother of six. For more family recipes and travel stories, visit Michele at www.alwayslatefordinner.com.

Photo credit for Tea Kettle and Dumpling Photo: Michele Pasch

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