Apples

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold

in pictures of silver.

Proverbs 25:11

One of my favorite autumn rituals is the arrival of the new crop of apples.  Living in central Virginia, we have wonderful apple orchards in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and we "city slickers" can't wait to get our hands on them.  The church where I am employed has an Apple Fest every fall, ordering Fuji, Stayman, Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, Granny Smith and Pink Lady apples that are delivered the first week of November.  There is nothing quite like a crisp apple straight from the orchard.  When I pick up my order, the apples are less than 48 hours from the tree.  Marvelous!

I was curious about apples in the Bible.  Of course, there is the old legend that the fruit Eve took from the forbidden tree was an apple, but the Scriptures give us no such information.  The Genesis record does refer to the creation of fruit trees, but no varieties are cited.  The first direct mention of apples is this verse in Proverbs, written by King Solomon, and is obviously referring to a piece of art or jewelry rather than the real fruit.  The Canticles of the Song of Solomon, however, refers to both apples and apple trees in several places.  The only other mention of an apple tree is in the book of the prophet Joel.

Jonathan Chapman, born in 1774 in Massachusetts, was an American pioneer, nurseryman, and planter of apple trees throughout the United States - particularly in Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the northern counties of West Virginia.  Known as Johnny Appleseed, he loved to tell stories to children of his travels to children, and would often stay with families, reading to them in the evenings in exchange for a meal and a spot by the fire to sleep.  Johnny loved the Lord, he loved apples, and he loved the land that God created.  When he died in 1845, he had been planting apple trees for more than 50 years.

Original recipe makes 1 dozen muffins Change Servings

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup apple juice

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup apples - peeled, cored and finely diced

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). 
2. Grease bottoms only of 12 muffin cups or line with baking cups.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt; mix well. 
4. In a small bowl, combine apple juice, oil, and egg; blend well. 
5. Add dry ingredients all at once; 
6. stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy.)
7.  Stir in chopped apples.
8. Fill cups 2/3 full. 
9. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
10. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan. Serve warm.