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I had to laugh over Lynn's story of how some other kids are envious of hers
because they get candy instead of cupcakes at school parties.  My kids were
always so embarrassed that I was such a weirdo and health nut.  I used to
put a baggie with dried apples or peaches instead of dessert in their
lunches.  I knew nothing about CD in those days, I just had the fruit.
WELL, come to find out, the kids at school loved my dried fruit so much that
they were trading all the junk food in their lunches for them.
    When my kids were in school, I was dragging home and drying several
bushels of local apples a year, I knew where all the mature apple trees were
for miles around.  People are usually thrilled to let me pick up the apples
cluttering up their lawn, and since the fruit is bruised they have to be
cooked or dried pretty quick. (Hudson's theorum:  the larger and more
productive the apple tree, the more likely it is that the current owners
have no use for the fruit)  And on these backyard trees, you don't have to
worry about pesticides, so you don't need to peel the fruit.
    The very best dried apples are from sour apples!  Try some Granny Smiths
just to see.  They will make your mouth water!!!  If you like this kind of
thing, try drying pears, peaches and plums too.  You turn plums and very
small peaches inside out when they are half done to finish drying.  The
pears will be most chewy at the green baking stage when they first start
hitting the ground.  If you dry ripe pears, the kids may complain of the
grit cells pears.  If you can get hold of asian type pears for drying, the
end result sticks in your teeth just like Gummi Bears.  Donna Hudson

P.S.  If you are a garden nut or have trouble with pesticides on foods, you
might want to join The North American Fruit Explorers.  Contact NAFEX via:
Jill Vorbeck   1716 Apples Rd.  Chapin IL 62628
Membership is $10 for 4 quarterly publications, and if you order the roster
(another $3), you can locate NAFEXers in your area who are likely to have
unsprayed or minimally sprayed fruit to spare.

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