All About Apples

September is the start of apple picking season in New England.  Apple picking is a great way to spend your afternoon with families and kids.  They can see where the apples grow and look at all of the different kinds.

It’s not only fun to pick the apples, but they are good for you too!  Apples are a great, low calorie fruit with no saturated fat or cholesterol. They are also filled with great vitamins such as vitamin C and B-complex vitamins and minerals like calcium, potassium, and phosphorus which make you healthy and strong.  It’s no wonder why they say an apple a day keeps the doctors away! 

There are many different types of apples that grow in the New England area that are great for apples, sauces and other snacks. 
C.N. Smith Farm in East Bridgewater has a great list of apple varieties, harvest dates and uses.  You can check it out here.

Here are some yummy treats you can make with apples:

 

Apple Cider

Nothing says fall like enjoying a nice cup of apple cider.  This cozy beverage can either be served hot or cold.  Many apple orchards and stores sell apple cider, but if you are looking for a nice drink to make with your kids and want your house to smell delicious, you can make it at home. For a recipe, click here!

Apple Pie

After a nice big dinner, apple pie is the best dessert to serve in the fall and a great way to use all of the apples you picked!  Your kids can help you mix the ingredients together as a great introduction to cooking in the kitchen.

Suggestion- Serve hot with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream! For a recipe, click here!

Apple Sauce

A delicious snack or even a healthy baking substitute for oil, this apple sauce is supper easy and everyone will love it!  All you need is some apples, cinnamon, a Crockpot and mason jars to store. For a recipe, click here!

Caramel Apples

This fall treat is often seen at fairs and carnivals, but you can also make it at home.  With this mini caramel apples recipe, you can serve them at fall parties or gatherings and kids will be coming back for more. For a recipe, click here!

Apple Chips

This crispy and crunchy snack is super easy to make and a healthier alternative to potato chips. Just thinly slice your apples, pour on some cinnamon and bake them in the oven for about two hours.  These are great to put in your kids lunchbox or an after-school snack. These chips are so good that you might want to make a batch for yourself too! For a recipe, click here!

Apples and Peanut ButterIf you aren’t in the mood for baking, kids will love their apples with peanut butter.  You can even make these cute little sandwiches and add in some granola or raisins.

Here are some great orchards to visit in the Southeastern Mass area to visit with your family this fall:

• ·         C.N Smith Farm Inc- East Bridgewater, MA
• ·         Fairmount Fruit Farm- Franklin, MA
• ·         Downse Orchard- Sherborn, MA
• ·         Wijcik Farm- Blackstone, MA
• ·         Belkin Family Lookout Farm-Natick, MA

Written by Stephanie Starbard- PR and Communications Intern

Scarecrow Stomp

Summer is finally over, and this past weekend we celebrated the transition into Fall in a big way! On Sunday September 19th, we had a lot of Fall-themed activities and projects to kick off the season. The biggest attraction was the Scarecrow Stomp, where families brought in their old and used clothing and turned them into some very creative scarecrows! There was plenty of hay to use (which created a miniature playground for the kids), as well as other arts and crafts materials to bring the scarecrows to life. At the end of the day, there was a whole collection of artistic scarecrows, and every family got to bring theirs home.

Next to the scarecrows was an all-time Fall classic: apple cider. No, not the kind you get at the store… apple cider made from freshly squeezed apples! While some of our volunteers cut up a whole bunch of apples, kids got to put the sliced remains into an antique pressing machine, then watch as the apples were crushed into a pulp, and the juices flowed into a container below. It was a delightful insight into how apple cider was made in the old days, and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it! Nothing better than a history lesson that you can drink afterwards!

The other food-related blast to the past was Johnny Cakes, a Colonial delicacy. These cakes were made from corn and corn meal (ground corn kernels.) The Native Americans taught the early settlers how to make these corn-bread pancakes. These were very easy to make (because corn was easy to grow and grind) and the pilgrims used them at almost every meal.
The recipe is also very easy. The ingredients are:
-1 cup cornmeal
-½ teaspoon salt
-1 cup boiling water
-½ cup milk.

Mix the cornmeal and salt. Add the boiling water, stirring until smooth. Add the milk. Stir well. Grease a heavy, 12-inch frying pan. Set over the medium-low heat. Drop teaspoons of the batter onto the pan. Cook until golden, about five minutes. Turn the cakes carefully with a metal spatula. Cook the other side five minutes. Serve the first cakes hot with butter and maple syrup.

The third history lesson came from the Wringer Washer, an antique device used to do the laundry. The kids couldn’t stop playing with the device as they rolled socks in the dirt and mud, washed them in the basin, scrubbed them against the washboard, rolled them through the squeezer, then hung them up to dry… only to repeat the process again and again!

The last history lesson came from Annawon Weedon, who brought his fascinating Native American arts and crafts projects and games. Among the arts and crafts projects were corn dolls, easy-to-make dolls made from strands of corn stalk. There was also an old Native American game, a game that originated the common phrase, “What’s all the hubbub?” This game consisted of a giant bowl with colored seashells in it, and the idea was to shake and slam it on the table, and you’d get points based on which sides of the shells are facing up or down. The most interesting part of the game is that you played with an opponent, whose job is to distract you by shouting while you’re slamming the bowl.

What’s more frustrating than eating a messy, powdery donut? How about eating a messy, powdery donut hanging on a string- without using your hands? Kids delighted in this appetizing challenge as they attempted to devour a donut, hands-free. It’s not as easy as it sounds! Needless to say, there was many a satisfied, yet powder-faced kid walking away from that activity!

Hay is fun. Not many kids see it on a day-to-day basis, but it’s fluffy and interesting and makes you want to jump into it. That’s exactly what some kids did, as in between activities they could make a mad dash, jump through a hula hoop, and make a crash landing on a safety pile made of hay. It was a great way for many of the kids to let out some of their pent up energy, and always amusing to see some kids make very elaborate dives in the air.

The last of the activities was an interesting arts and crafts project. In order to prepare for the season, kids got the chance to design and make their own leaf-hanging decorations. Clear fabric pieces in the shape and colors of leaves were stuck together, and they could be brought home and hung in windows and elsewhere in the house.

The Scarecrow Stomp is only the beginning of the Fall events. Keep coming in on the drop-in days to see Trucks on Tuesdays, Exploring Music and Simple Science, Animal Happenings on Thursdays, and Friday Frolics. Mark your calendars for the Halloween Romp on Saturday, October 16th. Be sure to buy your tickets in advance!

-Josh Nyer

Public Relations Intern

A "FETCHing" Friday!!

Friday was a very special day at the Museum- from FETCH! we had Ruff Ruffman and Season 3 "FETCHer" Harsha came to visit! It was one fun-filled day here!

There were all kinds of things going on including a Q&A with Harsha. She told us a lot of interesting things like how it was to audition for the show. Harsha said that the key to auditioning is to be yourself and to not worry about the camera, advice she gave to anyone out in the audience who may be thinking of auditioning for an upcoming season. She also told us what her favorite challenge was: scavenger hunt in Boston!

A lot of those in the audience agreed that scavenger hunts were fun, and when asked if they would join a scavenger hunt club a lot of hands were raised! Looks like a lot of kids want to have their own scavenger hunting adventures like Harsha does too!

While Harsha was not the grand champ of the season it was ok since she had such an awesome experience and made friends with the rest of her cast of "FETCHers!"

After the Q&A kids got to meet Harsha and Ruff himself as they signed autographs and took pictures! Not to mention we got to have cake, before lunch too! Talk about a cool day! Meeting a tv star and cake! What could be better!?

There were also other fun activities going on in the Wild Place! There was coloring activities where kids got to color and decorate pictures of Ruff, which he then signed! Other fun activities included making a kaleidoscope! It was a great day!

Be sure to check out FETCH! when Season 4 premieres with a very special, almost all animated, episode on the 11th of September on your local PBS station.

Also this was our last Summer Drop-In-Day, we hope you have enjoyed them as much as we have! Be sure to look for some fun fall activities coming your way, like the Scarecrow Stomp or the Halloween Romp!