APPLE AND HONEY ACTIVITES
1. Apple Tree memories
Out of red and green felt, cut apples shapes. String the apples with ribbons on a tree branch and place in a sturdy vase for a fun centerpiece. Turn this into a memory tree. Ask all of your guests to write a favorite family holiday memory on apple shaped paper. Let everyone hang the apples on the branches. Another option is to use the apples as name card for each place setting. Then each family member can write their special memory when they are at the table and add it to the “family tree.”
2. Apple and honey taste test. Visit a farmers market such as St. Paul, Midtown, Kingsfield and pick out some different honey varieties and a 3 or 4 choices of apples to taste. See if you can match the flavors, apples to apples and honey to honey. See which combinations taste the best. If you have been fortunate to travel to Israel, be sure to bring back some date honey. This is one of my favorite new years treats.
If you weren’t able to buy date honey this year, here is a recipe to make your own.
3. Make your own Date Honey
- 8 dates – make sure you buy the fat, sticky Medjool dates (Delget won’t work)
- Juice of ½ a lemon, remove the seeds
- ½ cup water
- 4 pieces crystallized ginger, finely chopped
- ¼ cup Agave syrup (don’t worry, this is easy to find at Whole Foods or health food stores)
Remove the pit from the dates and quarter them. Mash the dates with a fork into a paste-like consistency. Add the date mash to a small sauce pan. Add the lemon juice and ¼ cup of water and heat over a low flame, stirring frequently with a whisk or wooden spoon (about 3 minutes). After the water is absorbed, add the remaining water, agave syrup and crystallized ginger. The mash should take on a slightly more liquid quality, like apple butter. Continue stirring, adding small amounts of additional water and Agave syrup as necessary until you reach the taste and consistency you like.
Let cool and serve with slices of Ginger Gold, Honey Crisp apples (or any apple you like).
4. Apple cake. My favorite recipe is from Tina Wasserman. It is easy to make and one of the moistest cakes I’ve ever eaten.
Fresh Apple Cake
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 ¼ cups oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups chopped fresh apples
Confectioners sugar
Combine flour, soda, salt, cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
Blend oil and sugar, add eggs beat until lemon color. Add vanilla and blend.
Gold in dry ingredients and apples and pour in bundt pan.
Bake at 350 for 50 – 55 minutes. Allow cake to cool, remove from pan and dust with confectioners sugar.
5. At your dinner the following blessings can be recited:
The Blessing For Apple and Honey
Blessing for the apples: Blessed are you Lord, our God, Ruler of the world, Creator of the fruit of the tree. (Baruch atah Ado-nai, Ehlo-haynu melech Ha-olam, Borai p’ree ha’aitz.)
Take a bite of the apple slices dipped in honey.
Now say the second part of the prayer, which asks God to renew us during the New Year: May it be Your will, Adonai, our God and the God of our forefathers, that You renew for us a good and sweet year. (Y’hee ratzon mee-l’fanekha, Adonai Elohaynu v’elohey avoteynu sh’tichadeish aleinu shanah tovah um’tuqah.
