We woke up early and made our way to a town called Milton to check out the Willis Family Fruit Farm (with a much needed visit to Starbucks for our non-morning person).
A quick stop to sample the apples in season.
Navigating the fields was easy. Straight to the Mutsu for me!
We filled our baskets in no time.
We decided to check out the corn maze.
It was our first corn maze - we hit a few dead ends.
We didn't mind because the maze was beautiful.
Oops - more dead ends.
Double Oops all the way!
Finally a way out!
The maze led us right into a pumpkin patch. Could this farm get any better?
A green pumpkin.
Tempting delicious pumpkin...
But the mission was to get apples and I was already picturing all the tasty things I could make.
I turned these...
...into this!
Apple pie is as easy as...well, pie. If making pie crust seems daunting, don't sweat it, buy a frozen one and thaw it in your fridge. If you don't own a pie plate - problem solved - they come with a foil one. There are usually two per box so use the second one for your top crust. The filling does all the work as it bakes. I usually wing it but this is a pretty much my "recipe". If my apples are tart I use a little more sugar. If they are sweeter, I cut back. If I'm in the mood I use brown sugar for a little molasses kick. And I never toss my extra pie dough. I roll it into into the closest shape to a circle that I can, and pile up some apples, sugar and a little starch in the middle. Then I form a bowl out of the edges, pinch it together, and bake it on a cookie sheet. It's not pretty but it tastes great!
My Apple Pie
Apple filling:
6 large Mutsu apples
Zest of one lemon
1 cup sugar (or less depending on my mood)
3 tbsp corn starch
1 tsp cinnamon (or more depending on my mood)
2 Basic Single Pastry Crust recipes from the Veganomicon (or use your favorite recipe or pre-made)
2-3 tbsp Earth Balance soy margarine
Soy milk for brushing (optional)
Preheat oven to 400-425F.
Prepare the apple filling:
1. Peel and thinly slice apples into a large bowl.
2. Zest lemon directly onto apples - transferring loses some of the oils.
3. You can squeeze lemon juice into the apples to prevent oxidization. This is optional - browning has no affect on the flavor.
4. Mix sugar, corn starch and cinnamon together.
5. Toss apples in sugar mixture until coated.
Assembling the pie:
1. Roll out pie dough to 1/8 inch thick.
2. Place 9 inch pie plate face down and cut an extra inch around plate.
3. Roll top even larger to allow room for lots of filling. Cut a small hole in center for steam to escape.
4. Place bottom crust in pie plate.
5. Add apple mixture, pushing apples to fill the bottom. Don't worry about piling them high - the more apples the better - they will reduce as they bake.
6. Drop Earth Balance in little blots over apples.
6. Fold top crust in half, place in center of pie and fold back other half.
7. Fold overhang under and pinch edges to seal.
8. Brush top with soy milk (for browning) - optional.
9. Bake for about 40 minutes or until crust is browned and apples are softened.
10. Serve with your favorite non-dairy ice cream. Vanilla or maple work great.
You can see the whole pie at Scrap. Eat. Book. I also made decadent Apple-Peanut Butter-Caramel Bars.
