Fall. YUM.
Bought a great book this week - Fresh from the Farmers' Market, by Janet Fletcher. It's a cookbook that focuses on fresh, local produce. The recipes are divided seasonally for easy, chronological access. Here's one we made this week:
Apple and Dried Cherry Crisp
1/2 c. pitted dried cherries
2 pounds apples (we used a mix of different varities for more depth of flavor)
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. flour
3 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
pinch salt
6 T. butter, in small pieces
1/3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (I doubled this ingredient; I like LOTS of topping!)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Put cherries in a small bowl with just enough water to cover. Let stand 1 hour, then drain.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Quarter, core, and peel the apples. Cut each quarter crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. In a large bowl, combine apple slices and 2 T. granulated sugar. Toss to coat.
Combine flour, remaining 2 T. granulated sugar, borwn sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix on low until well blended. Add butter pieces, and mix until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add oatmeal and walnuts and mix until mixture forms clumps.
Layer apples in a 10-inch baking pan, sprinkling cherries evenly between layers. (Make sure no cherries are exposed, or they will burn.) Cover with topping, pressing lightly into an even layer. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbly, about 55 minutes.
This recipe was an absolute no-brainer, and we were delighted with the results. It makes a great dessert, and the leftovers are pretty darn good for breakfast, too. (What? It's fruit and oatmeal, isn't it? I'm practically being a SAINT, eating it for breakfast.)
I think Fletcher's point is well-made. It wasn't that the recipe was some revolutionary thing. It's that we went to the farmer's market that day, bought a variety of the freshest seasonal apples we could find, and then didn't screw them up with a crazy, complicated recipe.
Apple and Dried Cherry Crisp
1/2 c. pitted dried cherries
2 pounds apples (we used a mix of different varities for more depth of flavor)
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. flour
3 T. brown sugar
1/4 t. ground cinnamon
pinch salt
6 T. butter, in small pieces
1/3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (I doubled this ingredient; I like LOTS of topping!)
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Put cherries in a small bowl with just enough water to cover. Let stand 1 hour, then drain.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Quarter, core, and peel the apples. Cut each quarter crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. In a large bowl, combine apple slices and 2 T. granulated sugar. Toss to coat.
Combine flour, remaining 2 T. granulated sugar, borwn sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix on low until well blended. Add butter pieces, and mix until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add oatmeal and walnuts and mix until mixture forms clumps.
Layer apples in a 10-inch baking pan, sprinkling cherries evenly between layers. (Make sure no cherries are exposed, or they will burn.) Cover with topping, pressing lightly into an even layer. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbly, about 55 minutes.
This recipe was an absolute no-brainer, and we were delighted with the results. It makes a great dessert, and the leftovers are pretty darn good for breakfast, too. (What? It's fruit and oatmeal, isn't it? I'm practically being a SAINT, eating it for breakfast.)
I think Fletcher's point is well-made. It wasn't that the recipe was some revolutionary thing. It's that we went to the farmer's market that day, bought a variety of the freshest seasonal apples we could find, and then didn't screw them up with a crazy, complicated recipe.
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