Apple Harvest Time

Ah, the end of the summer from hell. Finally coolness and rain. We are supposed to average ten days a year in the over ninety-five F range. This year we had more than 32! But now we can turn to autumn, one of my favorite seasons. One reason is apples, particularly the apples from the Almata tree in the farm's yard. You will never see these in any store or roadside stand. Why? Well, they are rather tart, one might say. So tart that even I cannot eat a whole one out-of-hand. But baked! That is a different story.
The coarse-textured flesh holds up in any pie retaining enough body that one knows he/she is eating pie instead of mush. A mixed whole-wheat crust. a little brown sugar and crumbs, and the finest apple pie in the world is the result (IMHO). A plus is the Almata's startling watermelon-pink flesh. Pink apple pie anyone? Dark-pink apple sauce? We got enough this year to freeze some, so maybe we can enjoy this treasure beyond October.