Kids Cooking and Cookbook Blog

Poppy-seed kolach

Early recollections of Easter dinners bring back memories of coloring Easter eggs and making kolaches. We looked forward to sweet treats because those were given up for Lent. Usually we had a few apples that were wrapped in newspapers to help keep them from shriveling. These made up into delicious apple-filled kolaches.

This is a yeast bread that is filled with any number of fruit and other fillings. There are many variations but a couple of my favorites are the apple-filled kolaches and poppy seed kolaches, shown here.

It’s apple season and I want to share two delicious recipes with you from my new apple cookbook that are tailor-made for cooking with kids.

Sauteed apples are good to serve with ham, sausage, or pork. They are really easy to make and are good on their own as well. Any of these apples will work well: Rome, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Pippin Gold, Braeburn, Northern Spy, Gravenstein, Rhode Island Greening, York Imperial, and Cortland.

Sauteed Apples

2 teaspoons butter
2 firm, tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
Pinch of cinnamon, if desired

With Labor Day gone, apple season has officially arrived. And with it we can almost taste the crisp, juicy apples. Let’s go back in time for a bit to see what influenced apple production in America. Remember Johnny Appleseed?

Was there really such a man as Johnny Appleseed? He has become immortalized in song and story as a dedicated tree planter. It was said he traveled on foot through the hills and valleys of the eastern part of our country planting apple seeds.

Apple blossom festivals are appearing all over the U.S.A. There is good evidence this will be another great apple season.

Your fresh apple supply is probably near the end, but you may still have some apple foods available – such as applesauce, dried apples, and apple cider.

Quick story on my apple cider morning fiasco -I had some apple cider in the refrigerator and wanted to have it for breakfast. I went to heat it up, but unfortunately, I forgot it on the stove. When I realized what I had done, the cider was all cooked down into a thick syrup. It was past the point of redemption, however, and now the pan is soaking in the sink. This is a poor way to start the morning and a quick reminder to tend to the job at hand!

Another year has slipped away and we take stock of what we have accomplished. There are always things we wish we had done during the year. But in looking back, I see two things I did this 2013 that make me most proud. Now I can say, “Wow! You really did get that done”!

When choosing apples, look for those that are free from bruises, blemishes, and skin breaks. They should be firm with no soft spots or bruises, breaks in the skin, or insect damage.

Wash apples just before using them as their protective coating helps keep them from becoming shriveled and bruised. I generally peel apples for eating in hand, but in recipes where the apples will be cooked, I often leave them unpeeled. This sometimes turns into personal preference however. With a plentiful apple market this year, choosing and using apples is easy.

Get kids in the kitchen enjoying one of their favorite foods – apples. Inspire them to eat healthy by providing them with recipes that offer alternatives to the high-sugar, white flour traditional apple recipes. Make it easy to get kids eating healthy foods from their very first bite.

My new cookbook Healthy to the Core! All Natural Low Sugar/No Sugar Apple Recipes for Kids is filled with recipes that are not dependent on lots of sugar. Apples by themselves have wonderful flavors if time is taken to savor them.

Now, what are you going to do with all those apples? With hundreds of ways to enjoy apples, will you use them in pies, desserts, salads, breads, jellies, or other?

Following is a recipe for a super easy way to use apples in a coffee cake for Sunday morning breakfast or anytime. It’s from my apple cookbook, From the Apple Orchard – Recipes for Apple Lovers. Kids will enjoy making this simple but yummy and quick coffee cake.

APPLE BISCUIT COFFEE CAKE

2 cooking apples, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/4 cup raisins
1 can refrigerated ready-to-bake biscuits

Many years ago when I was a family and consumer sciences teacher, the students could hardly wait to work

in a foods lab. “Are we cookin’

today” was an often heard remark.

Fall especially brought an abundance of different foods to prepare and sample.

One of the most versatile and interesting was the use of apples.  At that time we had five unit kitchens with four students in each. Each kitchen was to choose a different method of preparing apples and then all would sample the results.

The crisp Fall air brings with it the wonderful smell and taste of fresh picked apples.

Here are some tips for picking and storing apples:

• Twist or turn the apple from the branch. If you pull it, the buds next to it will break off and not bear fruit next year.

• Don’t rely on redness as a guide to flavor.  Apples come in all shades of reds, yellows and greens. Choose clear colored apples. Often those with an intense green undercast or undertone are not completely ripe. Those with a dull yellowish-green undercast may be too ripe.