Is it fall, finally?

First, a public service announcement: Do NOT leave wooden spoons too close to gas burners. They will ignite. Your house may smell like a camp fire in a fall-ish way and your 2 year old will be amused, but it is ultimately dangerous.

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming.

It finally feels like fall here - I wore a sweatshirt to the gym this morning, put my daughter in jeans and lace up shoes (tennis shoes? sneakers? what do you call them?) and made soup for dinner . . . hooray! I made this lentil soup and added spicy chicken sausage at the end until it was warmed through. Yum.

This is one of the first desserts that I "made up" all on my own soon after we were married. I haven't made it in years but it sounded like a nice fall complement to our dinner and I had all the ingredients on hand. I drastically reduced the sugar from the old recipe and tonight, I used all whole wheat flour for the topping (and to toss with the apples) but you can use all regular flour and increase the sugar if it's too tart for you.

It turned out good with the changes but you might like a little more topping - you could increase the oats, flour, and butter to 1/2 c. each.

Apple Cranberry Crisp (serves 4)

Peel and chop 3 apples (I used Granny Smith; Stephanie uses Fuji) and mix with 3/4 c. dried cranberries, 1-2 T. sugar, and 1 T flour. Let it sit for 5 minutes or so until the apples are juicy. Spread them in a buttered pan (9x9 or other baking dish). Put it in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend 2 T brown sugar, 1 T agave, 1/3 c. flour, 1/3 c. oats, 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 1/2 tsp. ground cloves, 1/4 tsp. allspice, and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Add 1/3 c. melted butter. Stir in 1/3 c. toasted pecans (optional).

Crumble topping over hot apples. Bake until the topping is golden brown and juices are thick and bubbly (about 20 -25 minutes more).

Goes well with vanilla ice cream and a cup of coffee!