We are on the cusp of autumn here in the midwest, and this dish bridges the fruits of the seasons in a most comforting fashion. It’s a recipe that I think is worth making for the aroma alone. Apples and plums simmering on the stovetop calms my busy mind and reminds me that I have so much to be grateful for. As I look at these photos I celebrate the goodness of the harvest, the joyful opportunity to share kitchen projects with my niece, and the hopeful promise of friends and family who gather together around the table.

I learned the method of making an apple crisp by first cooking apples on the stovetop with sugar, lemon juice, and butter, from Nigel Slater via Orangette. His brilliant method begins by warming a pan of butter and allowing the fruit to release their natural juices and slightly caramelize before adding the topping and finally baking it altogether in the oven. In this instance, the purple plums cook down, bubble up, and turn the flesh of the chopped apples a brilliant ruby red. The color reminds me of those gorgeous sugar maple leaves at their peak of autumn transformation.

Cinnamon, oats, and walnuts finish off the sweet and tart fruit. No flour is necessary for this crisp topping, but there are many lovely toppings that you could choose instead. Be sure to use gluten free oats if you are not able to eat gluten. Enjoy it warm for breakfast or for dessert with a scoop of frozen whipped cream.

Plum Apple Oat Crisp

4-5 apples

12 plums

1 lemon

1/2 C brown sugar

4 T unsalted butter

Chop the apples and plums into bite-sized pieces. Juice the lemon. Mix together the apples, plums, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a bowl. In a large pan, melt the butter on medium-high heat. After the butter is melted and stops foaming, add the fruit mixture to the pan. Next comes the transformation! Lightly stir from time to time. It can take up to 20 minutes on the stovetop for the juices to begin to thicken. You will know that the magic has happened when the fruit is completely coated and the air is filled with that delicious Fall aroma.

While the fruit is on the stovetop, mix up the simple oat topping. Hand mixing works the best for me.

2 C quick cooking oats

1 C walnuts

1/2 C brown sugar

8 T unsalted butter

1 t ground cinnamon

1 t kosher salt

Transfer the caramelized, cooked fruit to a baking dish and evenly top with the oat mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes in a 350-degree oven, or until the topping becomes golden.

Our latest snowfall totaled around 12 inches, and it left the bare forest branches looking like mixer beaters covered in freshly whipped meringue.  The kitchen imitated nature the following day when my mom put together a frozen pineapple torte recipe from days gone by.  Even though it is an icebox dessert, there is something sunny and warm about the pineapple torte.  Her version reminded me a bit of key lime pie; I suspect because she toned down the sweetness.  I first learned of this dessert when she was searching for a recipe similar to what her mom used to make when company would come over for Sunday lunch.  She kept calling it an old-fashioned recipe, because it states to cook the custard until it “coats the back of a spoon.”  My grandma would plop the fluffy tropical mixture into her metal ice cube trays and put them in the freezer to set up. Refrigerator trays used to have removable dividers with a handle that you pulled up to release the ice. If you took out the dividers, the pineapple mixture went in the bottom part of the tray.  You can skip the freezer part if you please; it’s simply fluffy and delicious as is.  My mom told me that they normally had frozen pineapple torte in hot weather because it was a lot like ice cream. I found it to be perfectly perky and sunny for a February lunch, and I daresay it would be a pleasant finale to a pork BBQ meal anytime of the year.

Ingredients

3 egg yolks
dash of salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 can 8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained
2 T lemon juice
3 stiff beaten egg whites
2 T sugar
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (for a gluten free dessert, select the GF cookies)

Directions

Break egg yolks in double broiler.  Add salt and 1/3 cup sugar; add syrup from pineapple and lemon juice.  Cook over hot, not yet boiling water until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly.  Add pineapple; cool.  Make meringue of egg whites and 2 T of sugar.  Fold in whipped cream and custard mixture.  Coat sides of greased refrigerator tray with wafer crumbs.  Spread half the remaining crumbs on the bottom of the tray (or dish of your choosing).  Pour in fluffy custard mixture and cover with remaining crumbs.  Enjoy as is in parfait cups, or freeze firm for 4 hours and slice to serve.