Backyard Apple & Pear Crumble

Well, Happy Tuesday!

My blogging has slowed down a little in the past few weeks, mostly because we've been very very busy beavers.  However, I will be doing a month of Family Recipes in November, in addition to some spooky treats for October, so keep your eyes peeled!

A few weeks ago, my husband and I were lucky enough to get a few days off and visit my parents' Island Home.  If you have never been to San Juan Island, I suggest you make a trip up there, especially now, since the maples have turned, the madronas are bright and orange-y, and the tourists have gone home. 

Picture courtesy of my husband, he has a wonderful eye!

 

The next day, we went to the Farmer's Market. I hadn't been to it since it has been revamped, and I was impressed. Friday Harbor has such a wonderful community of farmers, artists, bakers, cooks, and creative beings. It was so wonderful to see them all in one spot. I had the most wonderful lemon curd filled croissant from my favorite Island bakery, Cafe Demeter. I only shared one tiny bit of it.

 

 

 

I love Cynthia's Of Course.

 

 

More from Cafe Demeter!

 

One of my favorite things to do when visiting Mom and Pops is to cook. Not only do they have a plethora of ingredients and kitchen tools, but there is yards and yards of counter space; enough to lay out all your ingredients, pots, pans, cookie sheets, double boilers, and then some.

Since it was an Indian Summer kind of day, I ventured out to the backyard and picked some pears hanging heavily from the old gnarled branches.

I also wandered over to some apple trees and grabbed a few of those too.

You know what perfectly complements fall fruit? A crumble topping.

Since the pears were particularly hard, I sauteed them in cinnamon and butter, which makes everything tastier, but also softened them up quite a bit.

 

There's my mother's famous pizza, just waiting to be served.

 

Next, I mixed up the topping and crumbled it all on top of the fruit, which was layered in a pie pan.

 

 

Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until the topping is toasted golden.

 

Ingredients:

 

for the fruit-

3-4 pears, sliced, any variety

3-4 apples, sliced, any variety

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tbsp. ginger

1 tbsp. allspice

1 tbsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. brown sugar

 

for the crumble topping-

3 cups oats

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1/4 c. flour, whole wheat or white

2-3 tbsp. almond milk

 

Method:

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roughly cut up apples and pears.

 

In a skillet, melt butter throw pears in. Add apples if desired. Saute for about 15-20 minutes, until softened. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the fruit layer. Mix well, so as to ensure apples and pears are coated with spices and sugar. Spread evenly into pie dish.

 

 In another large bowl, combine all ingredients for the topping, making sure that the mixture is wet but not soggy. If it is too soggy, add more oats.

 

Spoon large chunks of crumble topping on top of fruit. Pop it in the oven and wait 30-35 minutes. Let cool before serving.

 

 

 

This is delicious as breakfast, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert!