Apple

Three food groups are covered with these high-protein snacks. - 6 green apples - 1 cup peanut butter, chunky-style preferred - 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped - 1/2 cup crispy rice cereal - 1/4 cup raisins - cheddar cheese Cut apples in half and remove cores, leaving hollows for the peanut butter mixture. Mix peanut butter with peanuts, crispy rice cereal and raisins. Spoon into prepared apples. Cut into slices. Make sails with triangles of cheese. Variation: Substitute shredded or chopped carrots for raisins.

I am a changed man. A more open-minded man. Fifteen months ago, I had a conversion experience. Just before the big Halloween snow in 2011, my wife, Yolanda, told me she was going to eat a gluten-free, grain-free diet for 30 days. When I heard these words, I kept my face placid, but inside, my food-loving heart of hearts was doing an imitation of "The Scream. " You see, we generally eat as a family, and when two of the kids went vegetarian, we all ate vegetarian, by and large. That was OK - food was still flavorful.

Starting this spring, the Apple Valley League has expanded into boys sports. Previously a girls sports-only conference, it will crown its inaugural baseball champion, then expand to boys golf and soccer this upcoming fall. The league will consist of the same seven schools that participate in all girls sports: Clear Spring, St. Maria Goretti and the five Eastern Panhandle schools of Jefferson, Hedgesville, Martinsburg, Musselman and Berkeley Springs. "We just started, and we're going to see how it goes," Goretti athletic director Carol Brahshears said.

Even though the fall harvest apples are not in season, this wonderfully delicious dessert is easy to prepare from store bought apples. The addition of the Gewurztraminer gives a really nice, sweet note to the dish without added sugar. If you choose sweet apples, be sure to cut back on the sugar since you will have less of a tart taste. — Scott C. Anderson is associate food service director and chef with Shepherd University dining services in Shepherdstown, W.Va., and Chef Ambassador to the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

kevinc@herald-mail.com Lost among the apple trees since 8 a.m., Raymond Smith lugs a crate of hand-picked Staymans toward a single lane dirt and gravel road. Thirty, 40 feet away, a silver ladder sits propped against a second bushel of apples, the last of his five-bushel bounty collected since Gardenhour Orchards opened its apple crop to customers in late summer. At 85, Smith's only accommodation to age is in the quantity of apples he picks. Time was, he would collect 50 or 60 bushels for neighbors, friends and family.

I grew up in big cities in Ohio, and when I was young, I thought apples were pretty much all the same. Red, yellow, it didn't matter to me. They all tasted like apples. Then I became a journalist, and I researched a story on a 1908 Northern Michigan farm family preparing for winter. Part of the research included finding out what apples the family grew on their farm. To my surprise, I learned that the "subtle" differences I had noted in texture and sweetness among apples made a big difference in how an apple could be used in the kitchen.

This was my favorite cake that my mother made when I was growing up. I spoke to her recently to find out where the recipe originated.  She said  she thought she had clipped it from a small town West Virginia newspaper in the late 1960s or very early 1970s. The only modification that she made is the substitution for English walnuts, which gives it a milder taste. I actually substitute pecans, which I like even better. This cake is a real favorite at the Singer Society meetings and Washington County Museum of Fine Arts events.

Apple Awards given GREENCASTLE, Pa. - Principals in the Greencastle-Antrim School District have selected five women to receive special Apple Awards for outstanding service this week, including four teachers and a parent volunteer. Teachers selected were Judy Maxwell, a Greencastle-Antrim Latin teacher; Jill Pike, a high school English teacher; Penny Marks, a high school Spanish teacher; and Nancy J. Henry, a kindergarten teacher. The honored parent is Amelia Kasinoff, a volunteer coordinator in the middle school.

1 1/2 cups flour1/2 teaspoon baking soda1/4 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon cinnamon3/4 cup butter3/4 cup granulated sugar1 large egg1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract2 tablespoons apple juice1/2 cup apple, peeled and shredded ( see cook's note )1/2 cup cranberries, dried and chopped1/2 cup chopped pecans1 cup quick oatsWhole pecans, for garnish For glaze: 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar2 1/2 to 3 tablespoons apple juice Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.