Pennsylvania Apple Dumplings and Cooking for the Family

These are some of the apples that we picked at the orchard.
Making apple dumplings. I picked the recipe up at the orchard shop.

Rolling pins. The plastic looking one is I think Tupperware and you can open the end and put ice in it to keep the pastry cool. The other one was Bo's mum's. His step mum saved a lot of things that were his mother's. Bo's mum died when he was four. When we got married we were given a lot of things. I kept the wooden rolling pin, but never used it. The other day I thought let me get it out and use it. I don't know why I never used it before, but I love it. I think it rolls out pastry far better, I love the way the pin turns, while you just hold the handles, so much easier, than the other rolling pin. So will be using the old wooden rolling pin in the future.

Here is the dumpling recipe. I must say they tasted very good. But the liquid that was poured over them before you bake them could be halved I think. Also The Boy and I agreed that to keep it simple and less calories we like Baked Apples, with raisins, walnuts and honey. But I will give you the Pennsylvania Apple Dumpling Recipe because it is good.

Pennsylvania Apple Dumplings

6 medium apples
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp cinnamon
Sauce
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 cups water
1/4 tsp cup butter
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. Pare and core apples, leaving whole

2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in shortening until particles are about the size of small peas.

3. Sprinkle milk over mixture and press together lightly, working dough only enough to hold together. Roll dough on floured surface as for pastry and cut into 6 squares (I cut mine into rounds, using a saucer to cut around, I think a circle folds up better around the apple) place an apple in each.

4. Fill cavity in apple with sugar and cinnamon. Pat dough around apples, covering completely. Fasten edges securely on top of apple. Place dumplings 1" apart in grease baking pan. (make sure the sides are high enough to contain the sugar syrup)

5. Combine brown sugar, water and spice. Cook 5 minutes; remove from heat and add butter. Pour over dumplings. Bake at 375 F for 35 to 40 minutes, basting occasionally.

Serve hot with whole milk, cream or ice cream.

American recipes use cups and I find this an easy way of measuring. Not requiring any scales. We still think in Fahrenheit over here. For the weather temperature and baking.

I love this old Pyrex sauce boat and saucer, I'm keeping my eye out to pick up other pieces in this pattern, but just this one set alone reminds me of my childhood. The extra syrup I poured off the cooked dumplings and put in the boat.

I also made a Jewish Apple Cake, which is an old time favourite recipe and we all love it.

The jugs on my kitchen window sill, come from different places and have been collected over a period of time. Starting from the left, that jug is from Italy, then England, Cape Cod, the next smaller jug, is from Italy and is for scalded milk, to pour in with ones coffee, I love coffee served that way, and the last one is an old American jug.

Chicken, corn and rice soup.

The soup served in an old soup bowl of which I found a set of seven at the Thrift shop. I love them.

Salmon with rosemary and thyme on it, from my garden.

P.S. A couple of years ago we put in new kitchen windows in the old frame, that my husband sanded, ready to paint. When he sanded them it showed the old blue paint and then the old green paint, which was a very popular colour to paint woodwork in the twenties in the States. So I decided to leave the old paint showing, I like it, it shows the history of the house in this one window. All our other woodwork is stained.

Christy