The Warmths of Fall

Last night I came home to the delicious aroma of apple crisp baking in the oven. My mother had decided to make apple crisp, a heavenly fall dessert. The smells of apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon filled the house, and the crisp itself, piping hot from the oven, certainly warmed me up. Apple crisp is one of those special Fall dishes that just speaks of home. I really appreciated the apple crisp yesterday, as I know it can be quite tedious. All of the apples have to be washed, peeled, cored, and sliced, which is a monotonous task. The rest of the assembly is quite quick and easy. The problem is, in this family, one apple crisp really only lasts two days at most, and a whole dish of it only yields about six moderate servings. I know I have featured mom's apple crisp on here before, but it deserves another mention. I don't know if it was because we hadn't had it in a while or what, but it seemed to be extra tasty last night. This post wasn't only to boast about the apple crisp though, but really about Fall delights like this in general. Fall will be coming to an end soon, and then winter dishes will take its place. For now however, we will enjoy warm, fruit desserts, using apples and pears and cranberries rather than summer fruits and berries. Warm puddings and pies and bread puddings are also welcome. Roasted Fall squash and pork tenderloin and turkey dinners also pop into mind. As much as summer is my favorite season of the year, the dishes of Fall tend to be my favorite, as they are often warm, rich, and hearty.