Simple as Apple Crisp

Hopefully today’s archived image of an ornamental crabapple brings a bit of brightness to your morning. Here in Apple country there’s nothing but buckets of rain. With tomorrow being Thanksgiving, let’s move right into why this image was my pick today. For those following, it is the 9th day of 26 Days of Kindness. Today we honor Chase Kowalski.

What did Chase like to do? He enjoyed many outdoor activities like running and riding his bike. He loved baseball and was a member of Cub Scouts. In honor of Chase, I chose to make today light and easy with an Apple Crisp recipe that is tried and true. But you’re not off the hook so soon. There is a point here about kindness, too. Some people may think in order to do an act of kindness, well, it must be elaborate. Let’s use apples to make the point.

When baking an apple pie you use the same ingredients as you do in an apple crisp. The main ingredient, your apples being kindness, can still be baked into something simple or elaborate; it’s a matter of choice, talents, timing or resources. Whether you make an apple pie or tart or something as simple as an apple crisp, the taste is still phenomenal. Heck, you can bake an apple in the oven with a little cinnamon and it still tastes just as good. In other words, however you cook them apples, sharing the kindness is what these 26 days and beyond are all about. No matter how you peel, cook or serve them, do it with a smile in honor of Chase. 

And before we go to the Apple Crisp recipe, this quote from the Field of Dreams exemplifies what we can only hope today’s many acts of kindness bring to the Kowalski family. “People will come, Ray. The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of all that once was good and that could be again. Oh...people will come, Ray. People will most definitely come.” And so will the acts of kindness this day before Thanksgiving.

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp

½ to ¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ cup Lemon Juice
6 cups pared and sliced all-purpose apples (about 2 ½ pounds)
1 cup quick-cooking oats, uncooked
½ cup unsifted flour
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
Cream or ice cream, optional 

Preheat oven to 350®F. In large bowl, combine granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon juice. Mix well. Add apples and mix well. Turn into 8-inch square baking dish. In small bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Hold the cream or ice cream until the end. Sprinkle the crumble over the apples. Bake 30 to 40 minutes until apples are tender. Serve warm with cream or ice cream or as is.

A little tidbit on this year’s apple crop – 30% higher yield than last year so hopefully there will be plenty of apples at this year’s Thanksgiving tables. And here is where you can find the event and FB page for the 26 days of kindness to honor those 26 lives lost last December in Newtown, CT.

Image by Greg Bilowz © Malus ‘Robinson’ Robinson Crabapple

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