how much yummy apple walnut crisp must I make before I stop breaking my toes on this basket full of apples?

Sitting on the floor of my kitchen is a large round basket with a heavy handle. It looks like an Easter basket for a giant- the thing is huge. I cannot even remember where I got it. I use it when I am taking food to parties - makes me feel very Martha Stewartish. This is the basket we used to pick apples- it was perfect. It was easy for Matthew to run up and down the aisles of trees hanging heavy with apples and then run back to drop his catch in the basket. This basket has been sitting on my kitchen floor since we got home from apple picking, sometime last month. I have slowly been using the apples- cutting them up for Matthew and I to share as an after work snack, making pies and apple crisp for Brad, creating yummy apple bread... Mainly what I have been doing with this basket is tripping over it. Daily. Now that the weather is turning colder I might have to put the basket and the remaining apples in the garage so more toes aren't broken. The problem with that, though, is if we don't see, or trip over, the basket every day then we will forget to eat the apples. And a large basket of mushy apples is not what I want to accidentally come across while out in the garage searching for trash bags or a lost boot. The basket will stay on the kitchen floor until it is empty. And I will remember the beautiful sunny day our little family went apple picking every time I slam my toes into it.

A few nights ago I created an apple walnut crisp with these apples and a few other items I had on hand. Some of you have asked for the recipe, which didn't exist  until I was tossing items in the bowl. It was yummy though- hard to go wrong with brown sugar and oats!

Ingredients:
 4 large apples, peeled and chopped
unsalted butter
brown sugar
oats (I used steel cut but any kind would be good, I would imagine.)
walnuts, chopped.
honey
cinnamon, to taste
nutmeg, to taste

I have no measurements because I truly just tossed the ingredients together. Toss chopped apples, approximately 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, honey (to coat), and spices together in a bowl, set aside. In a separate bowl mix oats, walnuts, brown sugar and spices together. Add enough melted butter to make a crumble. I use a bread pan for this recipe, which is one of my favorite cooking tools- I use this pan to make meatloaf, bread, apple crisp... Push half of the crumble into the bottom of the greased pan. Add the apple mixture on top. At this point you might need to drizzle honey over the apple mixture, if the apples are not juicy enough on their own. Add the remaining crumble on top. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the apples are cooked to your desired mushiness. I like them a little crisp still, which is about 40 to 45 minutes.

This is an easy recipe to alter- you can toss in dried cranberries or another fruit. You can make one large crisp or small individual ones. And of course, topping with vanilla ice cream or home made whip cream is always yummy!

football, fish, and fun

The Wilkison's had a great weekend! We took Matthew apple picking, something he has looked forward to since we went last year. Last year before we visited the orchard Matthew rarely ate apples, except for applesauce. He simply would not try a fresh one. He did, however, enjoy practicing picking the apples off the tree- even as a two year old he had a great imagination. Last year he grabbed an apple and sat right now on the grass to eat it. Ever since then he has been perfecting his love of all things apple. He has been bouncing around the house for weeks, unable to contain his enthusiasm for his upcoming apple picking trip. This year he was a tad more scientific about his fruit. He helped me put the bag in the large handled basket we brought and he carefully selected which grove of trees to head towards. He took his time choosing which apples would make it into his basket. And he found exactly the right one to eat right then.

We picked out the perfect pumpkin and headed to lunch. We went to City BBQ and did our normal routine - Matthew and Brad sat down and I went up to order. There was no line so I wasn't gone that long but by the time I found my way back to my boys the two of them had taken nearly every item out of the old diaper bag back pack that we  now use for sippy cups and extra underwear. The table was full of match box cars, monster trucks, wipes, sunscreen, and a very old and long forgotten bag of apple dippers from McDonald's. Yuck. They had also found a small tin of peanut butter cups that Brad's mother gave him last time we were in Cleveland and so were already eating dessert. sigh...

After lunch we walked around Easton and hit up the book store. We were looking for a foreign language book but instead came away with two books for Matthew. Typical, right? The good news is that the long walk around the outdoor mall helped push me towards my goal of 8,000 steps. What an awesome excuse to head to Easton!

Saturday night brad built a cozy fire in the backyard fire pit and the three of us played football. Our little guy is quickly becoming a fast runner! At one point in the game Brad threw the ball to me while Matthew was heading towards me at top speed, head down, ready to take me out. I threw the ball back to Brad to avoid being knocked down by my three year old. Imagine my surprise when on Sunday I saw the Cleveland Browns execute nearly the exact same play!

Sadly, when Brad left the backyard to take Matthew up to bed I somehow managed to kill his beautiful fire. Little did I know how he would retaliate...

Yesterday we visited Mom, who didn't seem to remember that earlier in the week she hung up on me in her anger over my cancelling her dentist appointment to "fit my schedule". I didn't cancel any appointments. I tried to explain to her that I did not know why she had the appointment on her calendar, but she slammed the phone down before I got the chance. Yesterday she was in a great mood, happily listening to her grandson share his apple picking story. She then asked why we hadn't brought her any apples. I have not one memory of that woman eating an apple. the whole process of Alzheimer's Disease is amazing to me. My mother used to hate coffee, most fruits, especially berries, and Chinese food. In the past year I have seen her eat all of those things. When I asked her about these changes in her tastes she insists that she has always eaten them. Kind of makes me think I am the one with the memory issues...

Despite spending hours making a Thanksgiving-like meal and watching an amazing football game, the highlight of Sunday came when Brad accidentally poured Matthew's fish, Stuart, down the drain. My boys headed up to the bathtub while I cleaned up the kitchen. Here is what I hear: laughter and water splashing, then Brad's slightly panicked voice asking me if I can come upstairs, right now. By the time I hit the top of the stairs he is asking for tweezers. I am picturing a huge splinter in Matthew's hand or something even worse, when Brad tells me that Stuart is in the drain. Oh. My. God.

By the time I find the tweezers and race to the bathroom Matthew is out of the tub, covered in soapy bubbles, trying to climb up to the sink to see what Daddy is doing with his fish. Long story short- Daddy worked on that sink for quite some time but in the end we found ourselves explaining that Stuart was most likely heading towards the ocean. Like Nemo. Of course, Matthew was appropriately saddened at the loss of his fishy friend, until he decided that he will name his next fish "Peeps". And no, I do not know why.

When I think about my weekend the pictures that jump into my head are my smiling little guy jumping up and down picking apples and running back to drop them, one by one, in the basket. I see the table at lunch covered with the entire contents of the backpack. I see the look on my son's face as he races towards me with determination in his eyes during our backyard football game. I see the look on my husband's face when he walks back onto the patio and sees that his once blazing fire has cooled to softly glowing embers. And I will always remember my husband and I sitting on the sofa after tucking Matthew into bed, trying not to laugh at the thought of poor little Stuart slipping down the drain. They say these are the moments we will always remember!

band competitions and apple pies

Horses have really big eyes. I know this because I just had a totally freaky horse/car encounter. I was sitting in the Equinator at a red light, behind a horse trailer, when suddenly the door opens and this very large horse starts out. The trailer was very low to the ground, so I think he could have made it down to the road if he hadn't been pulled back by the rope tethering him to something inside the trailer. A brave man in the car next to me hopped out of his vehicle and pushed the horse back in, slamming the door before running back to his car. All before the light turned green. I am not sure if the driver of the horse trailer even knew what was going on. The whole episode took maybe all of 30 seconds. And the whole time that horse just stared at me. With these huge, brown, watery eyes. And he did not look happy.

I think that horse just wanted to get back outside. What a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the breeze is soft, and the temperature is just perfect. I love this time of year, and, obviously, so does my new horse friend. This is, hands down, my absolute favorite season.

The crisp air reminds me of band competitions and football games. I remember not caring about the game and totally not understanding the action on the field, until my friend Mark took it upon himself one season to assure that I understood the game. Sadly, I held on to very little of his teaching and so my husband had to practically start from square one when he first began to share his love of the game with me. I remember being a part of the high school marching band and waiting in the end zone for half time. Occasionally we had to scatter as the ball soared our way. And the "circle" before the band competitions. I cannot remember what we called them but I do remember that they had a name. It was a long standing tradition at my high school to gather in a circle before taking the field. Friends, coming together to remind each other that we were a team and we were all in this together. My little family has our own version of the "circle" now- my son calls them "family hugs". We hug hard and we hug often, reminding ourselves that we are all in this life together.

Sometimes this time of year I can hear drums from the marching band of the near by high school. When I do, I am instantly transported to the competition field. Sometimes I am transported to the college field, where I played horn just because there weren't any horn players. Having a section of two, neither of whom actually played the instrument, was a lot of fun. That was the year I learned a lot about clouds and flying and sports from my fellow horn player.

When I was a little girl I used to accompany my father to the band competitions that he judged. I would hang out in the press box and listen to the buzz of all the judges talking into their little tape recorders. Sometimes I would be pressed into service as a "runner", running the large envelopes of scores up and down the stands from the press box to the tabulators below. I loved sitting on that stool high in the press box, watching the older kids marching down below, amazed by the beautiful colors of the flags and the wall of sound when the entire band faced the box. To this day I still love a good company front!

Now a days Fall means pumpkin patches and apple picking with my son. It means baking apple pies and trick or treating. It means taking in a high school football game, a band competition, and a handful of Brown's games. While I fondly remember hanging out with my dad at those high school band shows my son will remember cheering with his dad at the Brown's games. He will remember baking apple pies with his mom. When I walk outside and inhale the crisp Autumn air I wonder which season my son will choose as his favorite?