I love fall. It's my favorite time of year. I love the smell, I love feeling that summer is coming to an end, and I love the foods that are in season.
Soup is a big deal for me. There is a soup for every occasion and fall is when they begin their promenade on my taste buds. Apples are also a big deal for me. I grew up with mealy, flavorless Red Delicious apples and it took me a while to forgive the rest of apple kind, but America's favorite fruit was redeemed by the SweeTango variety. Cultivated in Minnesota, the SweeTango apple was only recently allowed to travel to other states for sale. Thus far the only grocery store I've found that carries SweeTango apples is Publix, and they only carry it at certain times of year. This elusive Al Capone of the fruit world tastes like an apple pie, crisp, sweet, just a little bit of tang, and perfectly juicy. As a retired "food professional" I give it my seal of approval. If you can track down, don't hesitate to try one... or five... or a whole bushel.
In between soup-making and apple-pastry-baking I have the illustrious job of entertaining a two-year-old and keeping him from harm. In the process my own sanity if often compromised, which is why we often opt for outings to keep the damage to the house minimal.
One of our favorite rainy-day haunts is Great Explorations in St Pete. We have an annual pass (which is well worth the money as we go there almost weekly). It's a fun little museum for elementary kids with a great play area for infants and toddlers. I've linked the website below.
http://greatex.org/
Another fun deviation from the norm for us, is Target Tuesdays at the Glazier Children's museum. This is a wildly popular event so be sure to get in line early and double check the times and dates (as this program has been implemented relatively recently). Why is it so popular? Because it's free. I will repeat that: Because it's FREE!!! That's right Tampa Bay residents, for merely the price of parking, you and your children (adults are free as well) can enjoy the fun, educational, and imaginative play provided by the Glazier Children's Museum in Tampa. This event takes place the first Tuesday of every month from 2pm-7pm. Don't believe me? See for yourself...
http://glazermuseum.org/events/target-tuesday/
... See? But like I said, this event is incredibly popular. We're talking about lines wrapping around the building kind of popular. So you may not get to see all of the museum. Or you can think of it as an opportunity to teach your kids about patience and sharing. Don't forget to bring swimmies or an extra change of clothing for the splash pad out front.
Have fun beating the late summer heat.
*My mom would like it put on the record that while most kids grow up with Red delicious as a standard apple, she did take us to the orchard every fall and we had a variety of apples in the house.
