"Apples are a rich part of our past. Their existence is woven into the very fabric of what makes America, America. It was once seen as a staple survival food at a time when the earliest settlers didn’t know whether they could make a life in this new unchartered land. In fact it was one of the very first crops planted when the ships came over - young apple trees transported over the Atlantic in barrels. The uses for apples are vast and early Americans knew it. So if you are ever in the position to buy land, get those apple trees in the ground. Your family and future generations...."

In America’s early history, farmers and bakers took the time to make beautiful food in the name of highlighting a prized harvest during a time when food wasn’t easy to come by. In this case, apples. During the 18th century, one such traditional treat was the New England Apple Dumpling. Having studied Colonial history and it’s intimate relationship with apples, Nikki celebrates and shares these traditional apple desserts with her own authentic spin.

Serves: 6-8

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 20-30 minutes

Ingredients

6-8 small Cortland or Honeycrisp Apples ( or other baking apple ) peeled, and cored Your favorite pie pastry recipe, chilled

Jar of Athol Orchards Apple Cider Caramel

Egg White/ Heavy Cream wash ( 2 egg whites and equal parts heavy cream or 1/2 & 1/2)

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

8 ounce bottle of Athol Orchards Apple Cider Syrup ( or Hot if you’re adventurous!)

Greetings from A Farm For All!

As we write this… we’re sitting on our organization’s 50 acre property appreciating the bird songs, the splash of the waterfall, the fragrance of all of our herbs in full bloom, while we brainstorm about how we can continue to share all this beauty…

That’s the mission of our organization; To provide access to land to under served communities. Right now we are looking for your support to rebuild from the difficult times of 2020. Our project during Covid-19 took a serious hit – our Microgreens Farm (which pays a large portion of our operating budget) lost 17 accounts due to the mandated shut-down. The pandemic also eliminated our ability to host events on the property. We appealed to have our property taxes lifted as a federally recognized 501(C)3 Not For Profit but were denied by the town, and the Review Board. All of this contributed to the accumulation of back-taxes; we owe the government roughly $25,000 by October 1st. The money raised here will be used to pay our debt and rebuild the stability on land which has made our project possible for the past 6 years.

Hi, my name is Rachel Zastrow. Last night, Concord, WI was hit by a tornado and my husband’s family’s farm was severely damaged.

Two of the houses on the property are condemned, and the barn was completely flattened. Insurance still has to assess the damage, but nobody is allowed in the house due to instability.

There is no way of knowing if they will be able to retrieve their personal belongings. All of the vehicles were damaged, if not totaled. Three families were majorly impacted, Karen and Lloyd Zastrow, Jim and Mary Zastrow, and Brian and Rebecca Neumann.

Any and all support is greatly appreciated!