Kristin and the Blustery Day

The weather has turned from hot and humid to humid and blustery.  Unlike my friends who live further to the north, I am not under any delusion that autumn is underway.  But I'm happy for a breeze.

Yesterday afternoon I helped my spouse install an outside light to replace the one that had finally died.  We knew it was living on borrowed time after being hit by a coconut 15 months ago.

Yes, it's difficult, this life in the tropics, where palm fronds and coconuts can do real damage.

We could have used this wind yesterday.  It was the worst kind of weather to work on electric installations.  Happily, there were no accidents because of sweat dripping into the wrong places.

I have had a good morning, as I sent off some writing and checked in with my online classes and wrote a poem for the first time in two weeks.  I would love to do some autumnal baking, but I should be realistic.  There's really no time for that.

There are signs that the season is shifting.  My friend's daughter showed me her Hermione costume--it's not for Halloween, though, but for a week at her school where the children dress up as their favorite literary character.

I'm seeing Halloween displays.  Any home improvement/repair project involves at least one trip to Home Depot.  Yesterday, on our way to the electrical area, I noticed pallets of pumpkins and some yard decorations which were piled almost to the ceiling.  I thought of a poem where Frankenstein looks at all our home repair projects--does he lift his arm in blessing or warning?

I won't be decorating until our church sells pumpkins or until I see the first pot of mums that I can't resist.

It's time for me to get ready for the day--back to work after my long week-end.  But I'd rather be baking.

In case you have time to bake, I'll post my recipe for an apple crisp.  It's easy, healthy, fairly cheap, and quick--and it perfumes the house with smells of autumn!


Apple Crisp (based on a recipe from Jane Brody's Good Food Book Cookbook)

Fruit
2 or more apples* cut in bite size chunks
carrot shreds to taste or not at all
cranberries, fresh or dried, chopped or not--or not at all:  1/2 C. to 1 C.
blueberries, fresh or frozen, would probably work nicely too

At this point, you can toss the fruit with a few T. of white or brown sugar, but it works well without it.

Put the fruit in your pan:  a greased pie plate or a square dish or a casserole pan or a 9 x 13 pan.  In the same bowl mix the following:

Topping (can be varied, depending on whether you like a lot of crispy topping or little)
1-2 C. whole oats (quick cooking works too)
a few T. brown sugar - 1/2 Cup --1 C. if you're making a big pan or want a very sweet crisp
1-2 T. cinnamon
nuts:  anything from a handful of chopped nuts to 1 C. or more.  I prefer pecans, but walnuts work too.  I imagine that hazlenuts or almonds would be nice.
a few T. of flour--or not

Spread the fruit on the bottom of the pan and the topping on top.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes, until nicely brownish on top or less brown, if you prefer.  Enjoy for dessert (goes great with vanilla ice cream!), breakfast, or a healthy snack.


*If you're filling a pie pan, 2 will probably do.  If you like more topping and less fruit, 2 will do.  If you're filling a 9 x 13 pan, you'll probably need 4-6, again, depending on your preference of fruit to topping.