The Apple Pie Tree.

A random find at the library, this book has been a favorite at our house. Long after we had to return the book, Alexia asked for this book to be read before bed.


"The Apple Pie Tree" by Zoe Hall is about a little girl and an apple tree at her home. It desribes how the tree changes throughout the seasons, and how in the fall (yay!), the apples are harvested and the family makes apple pie. Could it get any better than this? Genius idea, combining farming and cooking, my current favorite things to teach Alexia. I'm just not sure why there haven't been similar books like "The Pumpkin Vine Bread".

But with this book, and Fall now here (although the sunny mid-70's weather isn't making it feel very fall-ish), and a couple posts like this and this, I was inspired to create a Fall tradition of our own apple pie tree story.

I came across a fabulous website for you-pick farms.

On a weekend where we lost our husbands to golf, my friend Anne Marie and her little boy, Michael, hopped in the van and were off to the apple orchard.

Michael even got in on the apple picking:

There's the now one-year old and his mama:

And here's our clan:

The asian pears were my favorite. And not just because I'm asian. 

Funny story from that day. Funny, laugh-at-calamity kind of funny. I have a slight problem with that. I can't help it. I usually feel guilty about it after though. But here's what happened...

On our way to the asian pear trees, we had to walk across a path of mud. We were warned ahead of time to wear boots, because of the mud from all the rain the day before. But even the boots didn't prevent Anne Marie and I, and our front-packed babies from sinking ankle-deep into the mud path. Alexia had not yet walked across, so Anne Marie and I were scoping out firm ground, and Alexia surprisingly took the plunge and courageously started walking across by herself! This is very out of character for her, I for sure thought she would wait for my hand and supervision. So I was really proud of her for taking the initiative. But she only got to her second step, when her foot got stuck and she fell face first into the mud. I hurried to get her, knowing she would be scared and embarrassed (as would I), and pulled her up and stood her on the other side of the muddy path. I admit I did have a blog moment and snapped a quick picture, and I also admit I couldn't help but laugh. Like the silent, open-mouthed laugh. All the while, she was still crying. I feel horrible as I write this. Poor thing. Breaks my heart.

But it is a little funny now. Hopefully she'll think so, too. 

The amazing thing about the farms in this area is that they were waterfront property. It seems like the two are exclusive of one another in my mind. I guess I just think farms=midwest=landlocked. But it was like the best of both worlds. The only thing that would solidify my moving there would be a Target within 10 miles. And maybe friends or family next door. 

Here's the wagon crew:

Done with pictures:

Little arm action with Michael:

Our hand-picked goodness:

Anne Marie went all-out and completed the day's fall festivities with a homemade apple crisp. So yummy!

And we concluded ours a couple days later with a homemade apple pie. 

It was my first time to make a lattice crust, inspired by Mel's.

We didn't use the recipe provided in the back of "The Apple Pie Tree" book. Instead I used my own version of Barefoot Contessa's. (Orange font below are my changes to the recipe).

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Deep Dish Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 4 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered, and cored (I used about 6 apples, because that's what I had) 
• 1 lemon, zested  didn't use, it comes out too lemony
• 1 orange, zested didn't use, don't like orange in my apple pie
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (I juiced half of a lemon)
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice nope, not doing it
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon to sprinkle on top
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• Perfect Pie Crust, recipe follows
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut each apple quarter in thirds crosswise and combine in a bowl with the zests, juices, 1/2 cup sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice.

Roll out half the pie dough and drape it over a 9- or 10-inch pie pan to extend about 1/2-inch over the rim. Don't stretch the dough; if it's too small, just put it back on the board and re-roll it.

Fill the pie with the apple mixture. Brush the edge of the bottom pie crust with the egg wash so the top crust will adhere. Top with the second crust and trim the edges to about 1-inch over the rim. Tuck the edge of the top crust under the edge of the bottom crust and crimp the 2 together with your fingers or a fork. Brush the entire top crust with the egg wash, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon sugar, and cut 4 or 5 slits.

Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours, or until the crust is browned and the juices begin to bubble out. Serve warm.

Perfect Pie Crust:

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) very cold unsalted butter

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening

6 to 8 tablespoons (about 1/2 cup) ice water

Dice the butter and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor (this has come to be one of my favorite wedding registry items, once I learned how versatile it can be from Barefoot Contessa - for biscuits, pot pie crusts, shortbread cookie dough, just to name a few) fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough to make sure it doesn't stick to the board. Fold the dough in half, place in a pie pan, and unfold to fit the pan. Repeat with the top crust.

Yield: 2 (10-inch) crusts

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Enjoy with vanilla ice cream and family!