Finding inspiration in the beauty of Autumn

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2017.

Here it is—October! 

And my favorite season—Autumn! 

Time for vibrant colored leaves, crisp air, juicy apples, sweet corn, warm sweaters and stylish boots, hot cocoa, spicy apple cider, plump pumpkins, rustic scarecrows, scary spiders, flying bats, calorie-soaked candy, delicious pumpkin pie, and two of the best holidays of the year—Halloween and Thanksgiving!

​What a festive, colorful—and yummy—time of year! Speaking of yummy, this is a perfect time of year to bake apple pies. If you love to bake, try my favorite apple pie recipe!

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HOMEMADE APPLE PIE WITH CRUMB TOPPING

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
1/3 cup plus 1 TBS shortening
1 cup all purpose or unbleached flour
1/4 tsp salt
4 to 5 TBS water


Apple Filler
1/3 - 2/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
8 - 10 medium size tart apples, peeled and chopped
2 TBS Stick butter, margarine, or 65% vegetable oil spread


​Crumb Topping
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup stick margarine, butter, or 65% vegetable oil spread

Directions:

Prepare the apple filler.
Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in chopped apples. Mix thoroughly. (I like to add a few sprinkles of lemon juice to the mix.) Set aside.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Create pie crust…
Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in shortening using two knives and a criss-cross cutting action. Do this until the dough mixture has the texture of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle water--a little bit at a time--until the dough is moistened enough and cleans the side of the bowl when rolled. (Note: Do not add too much water--the dough will be too sticky. Not enough water and the dough will be too crumbly.) Roll dough into a ball, then flatten on a nicely floured surface until it gets to the size that it will fit into the pan, with a bit left over for the edges. (If using a rolling pin, make sure it is floured so the dough does not stick.) Carefully transfer the flattened dough into an aluminum pie crust. Close holes, tears, or gaps by pushing the dough around until the pie tin surface is evenly covered. 
(I like aluminum pie tins from the grocery store, but this recipe could also work well in a baking pan.)

Pour the apple mixture into the crust-lined pie plate.

Cut off any excess dough from the pie tin edges. Press the dough around the pie tin edges with your fingers or a fork to get a nicely scalloped or ridged crust.

Now for the topping…
Mix flour and brown sugar in a bowl. Add in butter and mix until crumbly. Pour on top of the apple mixture in a nice even layer. 

Place the pie tin on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven. Bake for about 50 minutes or until golden brown. (Cover with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent burning.)

Serve! (It tastes delicious with whipped topping!)

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Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2017.

So it is official—summer is over! Those hot, humid days have been replaced by crisp air and cool breezes. Bold splashes of yellow, orange, and red live where once was verdant vegetation. Corn, apples, pears, and pumpkins are ripe for the eating. 

It seems like the natural world has become hyper-animated. Piles of leaves make a restless rustling sound as the wind whips them into a theatrical dance. The honking of migrating flocks of geese sporadically reverberates from the blue skies above. And don’t we all look forward to those kamikaze squirrels, frantically scurrying around looking for their nuts?! 

Paradoxically, Autumn is also a pensive time of year, mirroring the cycle of life with the inevitable changing of the seasons. Even while you are admiring the beauty of it all, you are simultaneously aware that you are witnessing the end of one thing and the beginning of another. Somehow it is all okay though, because that final explosion of bountiful energy reminds us of those precious moments that make life beautiful.

​Ancient peoples celebrated Samhain (or Halloween as we know it today) out of fear of the upcoming winter and reverence for the natural world. Despite our intellect, technology, and human ingenuity, we are still minuscule next to the power of nature. Fall will give way to winter, whether we like it or not. I am no big fan of winter…It’s cold and dark, and I could do without the ice and high energy bills! But just the same, I respect the seasonal transitions and what they mean in the greater scheme of things. Autumn is that in-between time—the bridge between the warm summer and the cold winter.

I draw my personal and creative inspiration from nature and natural things, and Fall is my favorite season by a landslide! Fall is pure perfection--nature’s last defiant celebration before the onset of the cold weather with ice, snow, and plummeting temperatures. Autumn is the season that fearlessly faces the end of nature’s bounty and prepares us for the coming cold. But until that time arrives, let it be glorious!

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2017.

Find Di’s Studio Designs here!


Related blog posts you may want to read:
Decorating for Thanksgiving with Fall decor
Finding creative inspiration from nothing