PS - It's still Autumn

Halloween is officially over and apparently that means autumn is as well - at least it seems that way when it comes to all things pumpkin, which is strange to me as pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving thing and still a month away.  It was weeks ago that stores sold out of pumpkin and Octoberfest beers and replaced them with Christmas ales.  You couldn't even get fall beers for your Halloween parties!

Well I have news for you, big conglomerates pushing Christmas on me…I'm not done with fall yet so please stop pushing mocha and peppermint on me, stop with the snow filled Christmas commercials and absurdly loud Christmas music.  I happen to enjoy autumn and everything that comes with it and plan to draw it out for as long as possible…or at least through Thanksgiving.

With that said I'd like to write about something I find perfectly autumn-ish…apple picking.

I thought it would be a fun date to go apple picking, so Brad, Maggie and I headed up to Erie Orchards.   (My favorite places to go are places that Maggie can tag along too!) It was so funny to hear all the kids yell with glee “look at that dog!” especially since Erie Orchards has a petting zoo full of cute baby goats, which aren't typically seen in everyday life.

Along with the petting zoo, there is a pumpkin-shaped bouncy house, pony rides and a playground for the kids.  There are several craft shops, you can purchase pumpkins, and there is food for sale including apple pastries (the doughnuts are delicious!) and cider.  We went for the apple picking though.

When we inquired about the apple picking, we were told “it’s the end of apple picking season” and out of 12 varieties of apples, there were only 3 varieties left to pick (who needs 12 varieties of apples anyway!)  They were slim pickings near the front of the orchard but the deeper we went, the more apples we found.  We picked about 1/4 of a bushel.

1/4 bushel of apples is a lot of apples for 2 people to eat so of course we cut them up and made dessert!  We started with an apple crisp. I found this recipe at Chow.com.

Ingredients

• 2-1/2 lbs Apples. Peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2-3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, separated
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons, COLD, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

 Directions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat an 8x8 inch baking dish with butter
• Combine apples, sugar, cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Toss to coat and place in baking dish.
• Mix together brown sugar, oats, flour and remaining salt until combined. Using your hands, blend in the butter pieces until small clumps form and the butter is well incorporated.
• Sprinkle the topping over the apples
• Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes.  Let cool 30 minutes before serving.
  

This dish was amazing and it's perfect for autumn…or any other time of the year!

Happy Halloween! (a little late)

Dorothy and Toto…Huge THANK YOU to my husband for drawing an amazing OZ