A New Leaf

Abby: Mom and I both love cooking. Unfortunately, with our busy schedules, we rarely get a chance to join forces in the kitchen. By starting this blog, we are turning over a new leaf.

Last weekend, while up in Minakami, we bought the most succulent and delicious apples you can imagine. They were from an orchard within walking distance of our house! After purchasing our apples from the nice little obachan who owns the farm, we took them home and immediately decided to start cooking. In anticipation of good apples, Mom had written out a few recipes that featured them prominently. This was one of them. Sharing a kitchen with my mother was everything I had expected. It was a lot of fun, but let me tell you, in my mother's kitchen, all flour must be sifted. I am not, I repeat not, a fan of sifting. It is a complete and utter waste of time. Doesn't mixing do the job? Anyways, I have to say that our product was phenomenally delicious (the sifting probably did help, I guess). I ate it for dessert that night, and for breakfast the next morning too.

Naomi: This is a recipe with a bit of "aji" on it. By that I mean, it has some history. It first entered my recipe box when I was a senior at Dartmouth, courtesy of one of my roommates whose mother was a home economics teacher, I believe, so you know it has got to be good. I do love a good apple crisp with a crumbly top and a dollop of vanilla ice cream -- this one fits the bill perfectly.

This rendition came out very well though we should have reduced the sugar since the apples were so darn sweet! Would it be an exaggeration to say that they were among the best apples I have ever eaten? I don't think so. But it is not just the taste of the apples that made this dessert such a success. It was the IDEA of these apples. Buying them directly from the orchard surely improved their flavor. A few days later we went back to the orchard (it is only a five minute walk from our house) and picked eating apples. The trees were laden with fruit, each piece a thing of beauty! The branches were so heavy that they had to be propped up with steel bars. But they also reminded us of the angry apple trees in the Wizard of Oz!

Mrs. Pearce’s Apple Crisp

Tart apples, 4 c., peeled, cored and sliced
Flour, ½ c.
Brown sugar, ½ c.
Butter, ¼ c.
Cinnamon, 1 tsp.

Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
Put apples in an oven-proof dish or pie pan.
Mix flour, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon with fingers till crumbly to make topping but do not over mix lest you end up with an oily, greasy mess.
Spread topping over apples.
Bake 30 minutes approximately.
Also works with peaches and/or cherries.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.