I was in Georgia the first time I crunched on a local apple. Ya know—an apple from the same hemisphere, nay! the same state. Before I moved here three years ago, I had no idea apples could grow in Oklahoma.

So far this month, I have purchased some apples from the Edmond farmers’ market and the co-op.  The Little Red Barn Orchard in Norman grows organic apples and doesn’t put wax on the skin. I suppose waxy coatings aren’t needed when the apples aren’t shipped across the globe. Lest you think I am an Okie apple purist, please know that I drool and sometimes succumb to the delicious Pink Lady apples, usually hailing from New Zealand.

A couple of weeks ago I canned some apples and peaches:

Apples with “character.”

This weekend I followed these directions for making apple pie filling and freezing it for later.


You freeze the apples in a lined pie dish. Once solid, remove the dish, wrap the apples up, and store in the freezer!

And for breakfast today we had apple crisp—one of my favorite things to make. Apple slices, spices, lemon juice, and sugar topped with oats, nuts (if you like), brown sugar, salt, flour, butter, and spices. Make extra crisp and freeze it for later.

Drizzled with yogurt, this crisp is the perfect breakfast for these brisk mornings we’ve been enjoying.