Happy Autumn!

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the abundance of harvest, the crispness of the mornings, the chilly football games & marching band shows, the urge to make soup.

Here in Virginia, we are lucky enough to have a mixed hardwood forest that yields a leaf color change ranging from yellow to red with all the variations in between. One of my favorite neighborhood trees is a huge maple with almost black bark whose leaves turn a peachy orange.

For me, fall tastes like apples. Here's my recipe (copied from my mom's recipe box) for...

Apple Crisp

6 - 8 apples, peeled and sliced
(I used 4 HUGE jonagold apples)
1 c brown sugar

1/2 c flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c butter (1 stick)

3/4 c quick cooking oats

In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the butter. Stir in the oatmeal. Topping should be crumbly.

Put apples in pan - I used a 10x7 inch pyrex pan.

Crumble topping over apples.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

YUM! It's fall!