email this pageBut when a customer buys his crisp Grimes Golden because the heirloom variety tastes like the apples she once picked in her grandmother's yard, the hard work pays off.
Last year, when Wenk learned that a growers-only farmers' market was about to open in Philadelphia, he decided to come home to the family farm after graduation to secure a spot at the market-and usher Three Springs, farmed by his family for seven generations, into the 21st century.
He gathered e-mail addresses from his customers and started a weekly electronic newsletter. Next, he created a website for Three Springs Fruit Farm and started a blog, where you'll find him discussing pheromone mating disruption for pest management, posting locations for farmers' markets and the types of produce available, and lamenting the effect of the year's rainy weather on his crops.
On weekends, customers flock to his stand at the farmers' market. They may have been drawn in by some newfangled newsletter or high-tech blog, but they keep coming back for those antique apples that offer the sweet taste of tradition.
Check out Ben's blog at threespringsfruitfarm.com/blog.
Old-Fashioned Apple Dumplings
Mark Boughton Photography; styling by Teresa Blackburn
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This recipe is courtesy of Straight From the Farm (straightfromthefarm.net). The syrup that is poured over the apple dumplings bakes into a delicious sauce. Eat the dumplings straight from the oven or warmed up.
Ingredients
Ingredients
Dumplings:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chilled butter
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
4 medium baking apples (such as Rome, Ida Red or Cortland), peeled and cored
6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)
Syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup chilled butter
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
4 medium baking apples (such as Rome, Ida Red or Cortland), peeled and cored
6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup dried cranberries (optional)
Syrup:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. To prepare dumplings, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter, using your hands, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in milk and stir to form a dough. Add more flour if needed to make dough less sticky. Do not overwork. Divide dough in half. Roll out one half on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into two 6-inch squares.
2. Cut off top and bottom of each apple to flatten. Rinse in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Mix together 4 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place 1 apple in center of each dough square. Fill cores with cranberries and a little sugar mixture. Generously sprinkle half the remaining sugar mixture on apples. Moisten the edges of pastry square with a finger dipped in cool water and bring corners together at the top of the apple. Press edges together to seal and pinch together any tears in the dough around the apple. Repeat with remaining dough and apples.
4. Place all four dumplings in a baking dish, 1 inch apart, and decorate with cut-outs made from leftover dough.
5. Combine syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat to cool slightly. Pour around dumplings and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake 45 minutes, until apples are tender and pastry is nicely browned. If pastry is browning too quickly, place foil over the top for the final 10 to 15 minutes of baking. Serves 4.
Nutritional Information
2. To prepare dumplings, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Cut in butter, using your hands, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in milk and stir to form a dough. Add more flour if needed to make dough less sticky. Do not overwork. Divide dough in half. Roll out one half on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into two 6-inch squares.
2. Cut off top and bottom of each apple to flatten. Rinse in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Mix together 4 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Place 1 apple in center of each dough square. Fill cores with cranberries and a little sugar mixture. Generously sprinkle half the remaining sugar mixture on apples. Moisten the edges of pastry square with a finger dipped in cool water and bring corners together at the top of the apple. Press edges together to seal and pinch together any tears in the dough around the apple. Repeat with remaining dough and apples.
4. Place all four dumplings in a baking dish, 1 inch apart, and decorate with cut-outs made from leftover dough.
5. Combine syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat to cool slightly. Pour around dumplings and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Bake 45 minutes, until apples are tender and pastry is nicely browned. If pastry is browning too quickly, place foil over the top for the final 10 to 15 minutes of baking. Serves 4.
Per serving: 750 calories, 32g fat, 85mg chol., 8g prot., 122g carbs., 5g fiber, 1090mg sodium.
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