With beautiful fall recipes that celebrate the harvest in Travis’s latest Raddish Kids, we wanted to make sure we ticked all the boxes for fall family fun. All of the following activities are ones we try to do every year. Start now and make them a tradition for your family, too!
Go Through a Corn Maze
Corn mazes range from the easy to the truly harrowing. Aim for one-acre or less if your kids are young like mine. Meanwhile, big kids can tackle the biggies… Or the haunted ones!
Attend a Local Harvest Festival
This was harder this year, under COVID-19 regulations. But we did go to a local farm, where the kids got to see animals like goats and sheep, and help feed them, too!
Pick Pumpkins at a Patch
We headed to the pumpkin patch on a day where proceeds benefited the pediatrics department of our local hospital. The kids got to take home goodie bags, and three proudly picked pumpkins.
Hop a Tractor for a Hay Ride
Bummer, the hay rides are closed this year, too. But the kids can still sit in the tractors at least. Vroom, vroom!
Drink Hot Apple Cider
After holding his own apple cider stand (!), we made sure to save enough to enjoy mulled cider back at home. The kids marveled at how a little heat and spice transformed a regular cup of cider. It was the perfect pause for some Raddish Kids’ Table Talk cards, too.
Visit an Orchard for Apple Picking
We lucked out with a gorgeous afternoon to pick apples from a local orchard. Travis was really into finding the best apples and carefully twisting them off this year. Veronika loved standing under the trees and staring up at the apples in glee.
Everyone loved it.
Need a recipe for your haul? Try Spiced Baked Apples!
This recipe is great because it works best with a mix of sweet and tart, taking advantage of multiple varieties from your picking excursion.
Ingredients:
- 6 apples
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons Earth Balance butter
- Slice the apples and toss with the lemon juice in a large bowl.
- Add the cornstarch, brown sugar, water, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and salt.
- Spoon the apple mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Cut the butter into small pieces and arrange over the apple slices. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Uncover, stir, and bake an additional 15 minutes. The apples will look almost like a chunky applesauce. Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving.
Happy Harvest!
joyful parenting 