It's Apple Season!

Typically, apples are not my first go-to fruit; definitely not my favorite.  I'll reach for berries, citrus and stone fruit first.  But the ones up here in New England?  Whoa!  I'll eat at least one a day... plus have a serving of crisp in the evening.  Oh, they're delicious!  They are their absolute best, though, while you're standing in the middle of an orchard on a sunny, crisp autumn day, plucked straight off the tree and given a few swipes on your jeans.  I didn't know an apple could be so good.  I've been known to eat a few while I'm picking.

Joe and I went to the orchard on Saturday to restock (I've become an apple snob and can't bring myself to buy them off the grocery store shelf when it's apple season!).  What a gorgeous day... though the trees had still not peaked with color... (it's awfully late this year) it was sunny and the temperature was perfect.  We chatted with a nice family picking in our vicinity, tasted a few delicious varieties of apples while we picked, and filled a couple of those little white bags (which really isn't as little as it looks in Joe's hand - each bag is a half peck) before heading home.

Sunday I peeled 10 of those babies and made a 9 x 13 pan, plus a pie plate (because my 9 X 13 pan was overflowing), of apple crisp; we love it - way more than apple pie!  I posted the apple crisp recipe below, taken from the Yankee Magazine website (you must modify accordingly, however, if you decide to peel 10 apples instead of the 6 or 8 the recipe calls for). {grin}

Apple Crisp

Yield: Serves 12

Apple Mixture:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 6 to 8 apples, peeled and cored

Topping:

• 1 cup butter
• 3 cups oats
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup brown sugar

Mix the topping ingredients in a bowl until the butter is thoroughly incorporated and the mixture is the consistency of fine meal. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the sugar, flour, and cinnamon with the chopped apples. Place the apple mixture in a greased 9x13-inch baking pan and cover with the topping. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. 

Variation: Substitute blueberries for half the apples.

I haven't tried that variation yet... but you know me and blueberries.  I'll bet it's good!

So, give it a try... even if your apples aren't from Vermont's Wellwood Orchard, I'll bet you'll like it!