Overslept

I hate to say it, but we might need to light the furnace. The cool temperatures pushed me back under my warm quilt this morning, and I fell back to sleep. As much as I don't want it to be officially fall quite yet, the low temperatures do help the apples to keep longer.

I have signed up for the One hundred Mile Thanksgiving Challenge. This venture comes to you from Alisa Smith and James McKinnon that started the One Hundred Mile Diet. They ate only foods grown within one hundred miles of their home for one year. I have heard about the diet, as many of my homesteading friends have taken the challenge {between us, homesteaders have a slight advantage}. Their year of eating only locally grown foods has gained world wide attention. But none of these reasons are why I decided to join, except for one. Saving the small farm. And here is where I run into a problem, the small town grocer. Rural towns are disappearing, mainly because the children grow-up and move away where there are more opportunities, i.e. the city. I adore the small town, it's unique history, the way you can walk into the only gas station or bar, and there is a small group of elderly gentlemen just itching to tell you all the gossip since 1945. I understand that my small amount of spending in locally owned stores, doesn't amount to much, but with Wal-mart invading 200 acres of farmland just a few miles down the road, the local businesses need all the support they can find. That ,and I can not live without my coffee and sugar. Dandelion root and honey just isn't the same.

If you decide to join me and the other's that have signed up for the One Hundred Mile Thanksgiving, let me know. Maybe we can help each other out on dinner plans.

On to the apples;

Julie over on Flip This Body, is scaring me. She's a mind reader I tell you. She has suggested that I make apple dumplings, And I just happened to have one of my cookbooks open to 'Apple Dumplings' I will need to go into town this weekend to buy containers to keep things in the freezer. Right now I have nothing.

Alrescate suggested apple chips and baked apples. She did have concerns about canning baked apples, but they can be frozen.

Kf_in_georgia shared some family history with me, a relative of hers developed the Hoss {Haas} Apple. {you will have to scroll down} Very Cool.

My camera has disappeared. I am sure I will find it somewhere today with a bunch of 2-year-old's view of the world, photos on it. So bear with me.

11 lbs down! {4.9 Kg}

Yesterday I made apple crisp. {insert photo here}

After baking the dish, I realized I had nothing to store it in {see above about freezing apple dumplings} We ended up eating it. The serving size says it serve 6. My children will disagree with that. I have been instructed to double the recipe next time. Apple Crisp receives two sticky thumbs up. {insert cute little photo here}

Apple Crisp;

2 lbs cooking apples {5 ½ cups sliced} peeled, cored and sliced
1/4 cup water
4 tbl lemon juice
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup flour
½ cup unsalted butter

preheat oven to 350F {176c}

Place the apple slices into a 2 quart baking dish. Stir with the lemon/water. Make sure you do this as soon as you slice up your apples to keep them from turning brown. In a mixing bowl, combine the sugars, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and flour. Cut the butter into the flour mix until it resembles wet bread crumbs. Spoon out evenly over the apples. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

Serve warm, or if you want the crisp crispier, allow to cool completely before serving at room temp.

Apple facts to amaze {annoy} your friends with: Americans eat about 19.6 pounds {8.8 Kg} of fresh apples annually, compared to about 46 pounds {20.8 Kg} consumed annually by residents of European countries.

Is there such a thing as an apple recipe that doesn't involve cinnamon? If you have one, please tell me about it.