Apples, apples, apples!!! I picked a bunch from my apple tree. When I was growing up, the only apples I remember being able to buy in the store were Red Delicious ( for eating) and Jonathan ( for cooking). Have you noticed the wonderful apples in the stores now? Wow! My all time favorite, so far, is the Baeburn. I think they are wonderful for eating and for cooking. All this got me to thinking about apples in general so I looked the word up on the internet. Here are some apple facts.

Two pounds of apples make a 9 inch pie.
There are 2500 varieties of apples grown in the U.S.
Americans eat 19.6 lbs. or about 65 apples a year.
Apples were the favorites fruit of the ancient Greeks & Romans.
Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they are refrigerated.
Archeologists have found evidence of humans enjoying apples since at least 6500 BC.
It takes about 36 apples to create a gallon on apple cider.

There were a great many more facts, so if you are interested, look it up on the internet. Isn't science wonderful?

Here is the recipe for the week. Apple Dumplings, of course.

Pastry for a 9" crust pie
6 baking apples about 3" in diameter, peeled and cored
3 T. raisins
3 T. chopped nuts, opt.
2 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup water

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare pastry and cut into squares about 6" x 6". Put an apple into the middle of each square. Mix raisins and nuts; fill the center of each apple. Bring corners of pastry up and join together by moistening with water. Press in sides of pastry.
Place dumplings in ungreased baking dish. Heat brown sugar and water to boiling. Carefully pour around dumplings. Spoon syrup over dumplings 2 or 3 times during baking. Bake about 40 minutes until crust is golden and apples are tender. These are best served warm.

Note from J. -- And with ice cream, there goes my diet.