gianna 40 OCTOBER 2013 I LIC COURIER I www.queenscourier.com FALL FESTIVAL Holy pumpkins and apples! If any of you are like my family and me, fall is an adventure of many sorts! Apple picking has become a mandatory tradition. I remember when we picked apples, it was so simple. You would go there with your family, pick a couple bushels, bring them home and spend the rest of the week canning apples and baking delicious apple treats. Good grief! You go apple picking today, and there are more fun houses than there are apple trees! I could not believe how many outrageous attractions they have to get you to spend as much money as possible. Whatever happened to the days when you and your family would just drive out to an apple orchard, laugh and pick apples with the ones you love most? My friend Fausta said that this ritual was as important as a holiday or a birthday. Let’s talk pumpkins fi rst. There’s winter squash and summer squash. There are also over 50 variety types between gourds, squash and pumpkin. Most common are the spaghetti squash and the zucchini. Pumpkins are the largest harvested of all. Pumpkins are widely grown for commercial use, and are used both in food and recreation. Next up – apples. We could go into the whole “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” thing, or the whole religious aspect of free will. You know that one? The great Biblical story on how Eve gave Adam that one forbidden fruit that was not to be touched. Not to get too in depth, the truth is there are over 7,500 varieties of apples. The most widely known are the Macintosh, granny smith, gala, honey crisp and red delicious. I’m going to give you one of my favorite recipes. A simple apple crisp recipe: 5 pounds Macintosh apples Grated zest of 1 orange Grated zest of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 cup granulated brown sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice 2 heaping tablespoons Honey whiskey For the topping: 1 1/2 cups fl our 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup oatmeal 1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, diced Directions: • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 X 14 X 2-inch oval baking dish. • Peel, core and cut the apples into large wedges. Combine the apples with the zests, juices, sugar, whiskeys and spices. Pour into the dish. • To make the topping, combine the fl our, sugars, salt, oatmeal and cold butter in the bowl. Mix until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is the size of peas. Scatter evenly over the apples. • Place the crisp on a sheet pan and bake for one hour until the top is brown and the apples are bubbly. Serve warm. • If you can’t make it to apple picking, you should really try our local farmers markets, and LIC Flea & Food has the best selection of pumpkins. Peace, pumpkin pie and apple crisp, Mamma Gianna
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