An Apple a Day

There is a 24-hour produce market just down the street from my apartment. Next door to the market there is a special Apple Room. At least, that's what I call it. Shipped from the orchards upstate, the wooden crates are filled to the brim with Jonagold, Cortland, Empire, and Red Delicious apples. Northern Spy, Cameo and Rome. Walking into that room is like taking a sip of a cold, crisp glass of cider. The sweet smell of many apples is an instant antidote to the dingy city grime just outside its doors. Sometimes, when I'm walking by, I'll just go inside that room for a minute and breathe deeply. It's enough.

Some of my favorite things to do with an apple:

* Slice them up and dip them in peanut butter (or better yet, nutella...)

* Make a quick and dirty apple crisp with lots of cinnamon and an oat-strewn topping

* Hollow out the core of an apple, fill it with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg, top it with raisins and pecans, then bake covered, with a little water in the dish, until the apple is tender and fragrant.

 

I suppose, despite all this talk of apples, the season is on the wane. So what's up next? Pomegranates?