Of Plenty and Pie

Mmmm... gives me a belly ache just looking at it! 

I seem to write often about getting a bunch of one item and storing it up for the winter (or the off-season, Louisiana doesn't have a "winter"). First strawberries, then peaches, and now apples. I love my farmer's market apple seller, who always greets me with a smile and knows who I am. I think her name is Ashley. Every week she greets me and asks me how I'm doing. Recently I got my head buzzed so this week she complimented me on it. I told her the real reason I stop by is for her compliments, which always make my day. Last week they had a blush apple that I liked but had to make applesauce out of when they got too mushy. This week they had delicious crisp Granny smith apples, a favorite of mine. Pie had been calling my name, so I bought a large bag of juicing apples, the ones that have bruises and the smaller ones. Out of the whole bag of maybe 40 apples, only a dozen had bruises so the deal was really sweet. 

After crashing at a friend's in the Bywater, I bought two pie crusts on the way home. No, I didn't make my own crust. I will someday but right now I don't have a rolling pin or any wine bottles or anything in my kitchen. It took me probably three hours to peel and slice all the apples (I also don't have an apple corer, which by the way is probably one of those kitchen utensils you really don't need unless you cook with apples all the freaking time). They were tart with a smooth sweetness. I realized early on that all the apples I'd prepared would never fit in one pie crust, so I decided to also make an apple crisp. 

I cut one of the two pie crusts into strips and made a lattice crust. Instead of pouring the sugar glaze over the crust, I just poured it over the apples. The pie baked at 425 for 15 minutes and 45 at 350. Although the taste is wonderful, the apples are mushy. Next time I'll only bake it at 350 for 30 minutes to see if that makes the apples a little more crisp. 

It's wonderful to have pie, especially on a day without humidity...