Cut beef stew meat into 1-inch cubes.

Brown the beef in hot shortening in a large pot or Dutch oven.

Shred the apple and carrot.

Slice the onion.

Add the shredded apple, shredded carrot, sliced onion, 1/2 cup water, red wine, salt, minced garlic, beef bouillon cubes, bay leaf, and dried thyme to the pot with the browned beef.

Cover the pot and simmer for 2 hours, or until the beef is tender.

Remove the bay leaf from the stew.

Cook the noodles according to the package directions.

Drain the cooked noodles.

Add margarine and poppy seeds to the drained noodles and mix well.

In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and cold water to create a slurry.

Add the cornstarch slurry to the beef mixture.

Cook and stir the beef mixture until it thickens.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of Kitchen Bouquet (or similar browning sauce) for color and mix well.

Serve the beef stew over the poppy seed noodles.

Serve with pumpernickel bread.