Apple Dumplings!

I confess that I have never made apple dumplings before tonight.
I do not know why I waited so long to make  them.
They are soooo delicious!

I will correct myself and say that my son and I made them.  It was his idea.

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 13x9x2 inch baking pan.

I made the pie dough from scratch (which is something I don't usually do).

2 cups of self rising flour
3/4 cup of Crisco shortening
1/2 cup of milk.

Cut the shortening into the flour with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and stir with a fork until dough leaves sides of bowl. Turn dough onto floured wax paper and knead gently just until smooth. Roll out to an 18x12 inch rectangle. (Or as close as possible - I'm not very good at rolling out rectangles)

In the meantime, combine 2 cups of sugar, 2 cups of water, 1/2 stick of butter, 1/4 t cinnamon and 1/4 t nutmeg in a large saucepan. Stir and cook over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted.

Pick 6 apples from your tree. We used a peeler - slicer - corer and pealed, sliced and cored the apple. It looked like a little round accordion when we were finished.

Slice the crust into 6 pieces. Place an apple onto each section. Then shake a mixture of cinnamon/sugar onto the apples.  Lightly moisten the edges of the pastry with water and bring the corners up and over the apple. Pinch all  the edges together. My son made them look like big dough balls.

Place them into the baking dish and pour the prepared syrup mixture around the dumplings.

Bake for 45 minutes or until  golden brown.

If you don't have one of those apple peelers, you could just peel and core the apple . . . or peel and slice them. It will  still  taste the same - delicious!

 This is what they look like coming out of the oven.

 Yummy!

Very yummy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

I was only going to eat half of one. But after the first bite, I couldn't. I ate the entire dumpling.

I like this better than apple pie and it is easier! I am thinking it would also be good using pears.

Try it. You'll like it!

Posted by  Janet Smart  on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Pear Pickin' Time

Our pear tree out-did itself this year. 

It is tall and skinny and close to thirty years old.

Her limbs are hanging low. One limb has already broken off this year, 

I am afraid more will break.

A lot of the pears are still  small and most of the largest pears are out of reach, 

so we got  out our 12 foot ladder and climbed up, up, up after the big ones.

We worked as a team. 
The person on the ladder threw them  down and the one on the ground caught them in a fish net to keep them from bruising.

We picked quite a  bit. In addition to filling Mom's old pan, we filled two large baskets.

What will you be doing this week?

I guess we will be canning pears.

Posted by Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Recording our Past V

In 2009 I started posting articles about recording our past.
Today I am posting a long overdue part IV post.

Recording memories.

Senses play a large roll in our memory.

The sense of smell is perhaps the strongest. A whiff of perfume or aftershave, the smell of a certain soap, flowers or a special food can trigger a long forgotten memory.
When you encounter a familiar smell, it may spark an entire memory from your past.
When the memory returns, write it down.
I remember a scene from a Waltons show concerning the family of Grandpa's older brother. His wife was reminiscing about her husband and remembering the smell of Bay Rum on her wedding day. Her soon to be husband had went to the barber that morning and the barber had applied Bay Rum after giving him his haircut and shave. (Bay Rum aftershave has been around since 1838).
Honeysuckle grew on the path down to my Grandpa Woods' house. The scent of it brings back  memories of visiting him when I was a small child.

The sense of taste brings back memories. Foods from when you or your family were young, such as a certain medicine, candy, baked bread, stacked applesauce cake, etc. can spark memories from the past.

The sense of sight also brings back memories. Going back to where you used to live or attended school, looking at old pictures or home movies or watching old movies may bring in a flood of memories.

Why do we remember some things and forget others? We have selective memories. Our firsts, events that had a big impact on us or a very emotional event will  likely be something that we remember.

I have found that when I would ask an older  relative a general question such as, what was it like when you were younger - they won't remember a thing. So I ask specific questions.
Both of you will be surprised at the memories that flood back.

Laura of Little House fame had a memory book. We should all have a memory book to write down our memories in and to write down the memories of other family members, so our past will not be forgotten.

The next time you get a whiff of something and it brings back a memory - write it down.
The next time you taste a familiar food and it brings back a memory - write it down.
The next time you see a picture of days past and it brings back a memory - write it down.

Make a Memory Jar. Type a list of questions, run them off on your computer and cut them into strips. Fold them and put in a mason jar (I like to use a wide mouth one). Take one question out each week and glue or tape it onto a page in a notebook and write down your answers.

Make more than one and give them to other family memories, especially the older ones, and tell them to do the same. Soon you will have a collection of memories.

 

I have two word documents I would be glad to email to anyone who wants them. One tells you how to make and  label the memory jar and the other is a list of questions. All you have to do is print them off, cut into strips and put into your jar. You can add to or delete any of the questions to fit your family better. Either email me or leave your email in a comment if you want me to send those files to you.

We need to keep family stories alive!

Go here for my other posts about recording our past.

Posted byJanet Smart   on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.


 

Blackberries

This is the time of year for blackberries. And, as you all know I am the Blackberry Patch lady.

Well, my blackberries are not doing too well this year. As a matter of fact, they are doing horribly.
I think I am going to start a new row where our garden is. It will get them away from my other two rows and maybe I'll be able to keep the weeds away easier.

In the summer,  the weeds take over my patch. It is hard to use the lawnmower up too close for fear of cutting up or damaging the vines. So, I end up pulling away a lot of the weeds by hand. That is very time consuming and tiring. Plus, in one of my rows are two sections where pesky poison ivy likes to hang out at, so I need to wear my gloves at all times when I'm weeding.

I went down to the patch a few days ago to try and start new ones.

This is what I did.

I got Styrofoam cups, added dirt and put the tip end of a new vine into the dirt. The tips will take root, then you go up three feet or so and cut off the vine and replant it where you want it to grow.

This happens sometimes on it's own, without my help. The tip will touch the ground and start roots. But it doesn't always start a new plant where you want it to.

Another way I tried this is to punch a hole into the sides of the cup, slip the end of the vine through the first hole (making sure that a section where a little leaf is, is inside the cup) and keep pushing until it goes through the other hole on the other side of the cup and then fill with dirt. I tied a string around the cup and attached it to the wire on the berry trellis.

I'm hoping these will also root and I can plant them in a row in my garden space.

Do you love blackberries?  I do!

Go here and here and here for some of my favorite recipes. And go here to see what it is like in the blackberry patch when they are having a good year.


Posted byJanet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

What Kind of Tomatoes do you Grow?

Our garden is growing in leaps and bounds - and lots of overgrown weeds!

All day yesterday we cut and weed whacked the garden. At the moment I am a little sick of our garden. I wish you could just plant and pick. But there is so much more to do.

We have tiny tomatoes, regular tomatoes and what I call Whoppers! The whoppers are heirloom tomatoes our neighbors keep the seeds from every year. They are delicious.

The tomato on the left is approximately 2 lbs. It is nowhere near the world's largest tomato that weighed 7lb 12oz. Can you imagine a tomato that large?

I never realized how large and spindly a cherry tomato plant can get. They are driving us crazy trying to keep them tied up. I was letting most of this one just lay on the ground, but when we were cleaning up the garden yesterday, my husband wanted it tied up.

These are the tall plants the whoppers grow on. They are taller than I am (which my cousin jokingly said, 'that wouldn't have to be very tall').

I sliced a tomato for breakfast this morning. I ate so many slices that I had to slice two tomatoes. They are so good!


I peel, cut up and cook my tomatoes for 20 minutes, then cool and put in freezer bags. When I have lots, I also make spaghetti sauce and salsa out of them and freeze. I then use my frozen tomatoes to put in soup and chili. I make breakfast tomato gravy with them, I have a recipe where I mix chopped up tomatoes, cooked cubed squash, sauteed onions and a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper in the skillet and simmer for 15 minutes. I make tomato and mayo sandwiches, tomato cucumber and mayo sandwiches. And best of all, I eat them fresh off the vine.

How do you eat your tomatoes?

What kind do you grow?

Posted by Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Around the House

It has been a while  since I posted on my blog.  During that time, we have had a family reunion.

Our garden is growing and growing. We have tomatoes, cucumbers, banana peppers, squash, potatoes, strawberries (which are doing very good for their first year) and even a couple of Brussels sprouts and eggplants.

I have had to pull up and throw away hundreds of baby Rose of Sharon plants. My advice to you -  don't ever surround a Rose of Sharon plant with mulch. Plant it out in the open, so the thousands of seeds won't sprout into plants. I wish I had a nickle for every baby plant I have pulled from the ground.

And we have built a deck. I love it! My son Andrew is a wonderful carpenter (among other things) and we were his helpers.

And, it has been very hot and rainy.

What has been happening around your house this summer?

Posted by Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

I've Seen Everything Now

My son and husband called to me and told me to bring my camera.

I had no idea what they were going to have me take a picture of.

Picture One - My son's 1989 Ford F-150. He doesn't drive it often, but it comes in handy when he has to haul stuff. It had been sitting down next to our building for a week or so. We were loading stuff on it to take back to Lowes. Before leaving, he put up the hood to check the oil. It is a good thing he did.

Picture Two - Seems the inside of his engine is a little messy. I wonder what Charley is looking at.

Picture Three - He is pointing to a bird nest. Can you believe a robin has built a nest under the hood of my son's truck!!!

Picture Four - There are five eggs! I have never seen five eggs in a robin's nest before.
WHY and HOW a robin built a nest in his engine for, I would love to know.
She sure didn't want anyone to find this nest.

Robins never cease  to amaze me as to where they will build their nest.

But, I have to admit, this is the first time I have seen them build one inside a truck engine.

As I said in the title of my post - I've Seen Everything Now!

How about you?

Where is the weirdest place you have seen a bird build their nest?

Posted by Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Around our House

                  

 We have one strawberry almost ready to pick (tee hee) if we can beat the birds to it!

Flowers are blooming!

In addition to our large bleeding hearts, many hostas, climbing clematises, about to pop irises and peonies, pink and purple columbines and growing ferns, I have an old child's wheelbarrow blooming with petunias.

The bird population is growing on our little acre!

There are many bird nests in our trees and bushes. But, robins always pick the unusual places to build their nest. Mrs. Robin built this nest in an old bird feeder nailed to the end of our row of grapevines. Her poor baby birds get the evening sun, though.

Projects are getting done!

My son salvaged a huge wild cherry tree that had uprooted in the woods. He made this bench for us and saved many more slabs for future projects.

We pruned our apple trees, and I saved some of the tree limbs. I am making these flower arrangements from them. You just drill holes for the flowers and insert them. Add birds and whatever else you want. I love them. They look good on your front porch or your dining room table. I added birds and bird nests to mine. I still have more to make. If you like rustic decorating, you will like these. You can't see it very good, but I have a hummingbird hanging onto a flower on the one in the back. I don't glue the stems in, so when the seasons change you can insert different flowers.

 Posted by  Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Strawberry Pyramid

We decided to plant a strawberry patch.
We've had strawberry patches before, but the strawberries took over and the weeds took over, so we made a pyramid. We saw these in a seed catalog, but they were pretty expensive, so we decided to make our own.

We bought a 40 ft roll of lawn edging for less than $13. . . and some top soil and one bag of peat moss.

Cut the edging into 3 pieces.
18ft - 10 3/16" for the bottom 6 foot circle.
12ft - 6 13/16" for the middle 4 foot circle.
6ft - 3 3/8" for the top 2 foot circle.

My son connected them by overlapping the ends, and using a soldering iron and melting the ends together on both sides. I wish I had taken a picture when he did this, but I didn't. Because he did cut out about a 1 1/2" piece on one of the ends before he overlapped them. But you probably wouldn't have to do this.

We placed it in a tilled part of our garden. We pushed the bottom 6 ft circle down in the freshly tilled ground about half way, then dumped 12 - 40 lb bags of topsoil and a 2cu ft bag of sphagnum peat moss inside it. We mixed it up good with a hoe. Then we pulled the dirt toward the inside (keeping the outside dirt level even with the top of the 6 ft circle) and placed the 4ft circle around the pulled up dirt. We leveled the dirt out and then pulled the extra toward the center and placed the last 2ft circle around it.

We spaced 18 strawberry plants in the three layers. Three in top, Six in the middle and 9 in the bottom layer. We bought 6 packs of them at WalMart.

We have a chance of frost around here till about the middle of May, so my son went to the building and found these long plastic electrical conduits. He punched four holes around the outside of the pyramid, stuck the pipes in them and voila - we have a frame to put plastic over when there is a chance of frost. It might also be handy in case we have trouble with birds and have to put netting over them. My son comes up with the neatest ideas sometimes.

 

We bought ever-bearers, and there is plenty of room for the runners to spread out and take root, so I hope we get to enjoy fresh picked strawberries this year.

Posted by  Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch

 

Peanut Butter Pie

I love peanut butter . . . and I love peanut butter pie.

But most recipes are a little complicated and fattening.

This one is very good - and easy to make!

I also think it is less fattening than some of the other recipes I've seen.

Ingredients:

one 8oz carton Cool Whip (thawed)- minus 1 cup
1 graham  cracker crust
1/2 cup jelly of your choice
1 cup cold milk (I use skim milk)
1 3oz package of instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup peanut butter

Spread jelly onto the bottom of the crust.
In a bowl, mix with a mixer the milk and pudding mix for one minute. 
Add peanut butter and mix well.
Fold in Cool Whip. Spread over jelly.

Cover and freeze for four hours or until firm. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.


If you like peanut butter, you will love this pie. It is very good. I sprinkled chocolate chips on top of my slice or you could squirt Hershey's chocolate syrup on top if you want - or you could put a spoonful of the leftover Cool Whip on your slice.

(Personally, I like chocolate with my peanut butter)

I hope you like it. It got a thumbs up from everyone at my house tonight!

Janet Smart     Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Happy Birthday, Charley

I have three sons, each one unique in his own way.

Charley is my oldest son.

Sometimes I feel sorry for first born children.
As they learn to take their first steps and to talk, you are also learning to be a parent for the first time.
Sometimes you both struggle and fall, but oh what a fun journey it is!

He was our whiz kid. It was normal for him to read, write, spell and have medical conversations with his pediatrician before he was five years old. He wore glasses at the tender age of three. He would fall asleep at night with a book in his hands. He loves computers, science and anything new that challenges him.

How fast time passes by.

From his first smile and wave
he stole our hearts.

He became a big brother less than 2 years later when he welcomed home
his little brother Andrew.

His first day of Kindergarten.

Later he became a big brother again when our youngest son Davy was born.
He was growing up before our very eyes.

From kindergarten to college graduation.
They grow up too fast.

He's married now, but he's still my baby.

Happy Birthday, Charley!

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

 

Snow, Eaglecam and a Giveaway

Woke up to a  little snow this morning. . . and so did the eagles at Shepherdstown. They sure are dedicated parents.

Go here to check them out.  Their eggs are due to hatch about the middle of March.


Thought I'd give my followers a thumbs up about a picture book giveaway I am having over on my writing blog. (Yes, I am still writing!) A friend of mine just had a picture book published!


Go to Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch and comment for a chance to win it for your kids, grand-kids or you!

Thanks!


Posted by Janet F. Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Sunday Thoughts

 A beautiful spring day and a beautiful sleeping baby.

At a little country church filled with lots of family history and lots of love.

This is a picture of my first son's first day at church back in April of 1980. 

 The church was founded by his ancestor, Rev. William Ballard Parsons. 

FIRSTS

by Janet F. Smart

Our minds are filled with memories.

Sometimes we don't recall the firsts . . .

but someone else does.

The camera captures the moments

for the minds that were too young

to know what was.

 

 Posted by Janet F. Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.