god and apple pie

Here I go, looking for religion again.
I don't know why--maybe it's Sadie who sends me that way, asking her questions. I want someone else to write the answers and to tell me the rules. I want us to sit and take a moment before dinner to thank someone, anyone! for what's in front of us. Sometimes I'm envious of my neighbor (see? that would make me a bad Christian already) because God intervenes in her parenting so often. Her children are so polite--they have been raised to be good Christians and they are! And then my girls run around them in a little two-girl swarm, telling fart jokes and asking questions about evolution. They say, "we're Jewish! like Anne Frank!"

We're working on it, always working on it.
We haven't yet found the book that gives us the answers. Unless you count this one.

Last year it was pear pie, but this year it had to be apple. We have a a tree that gave us thirteen apples, and they were just holy (and holey) enough for our equinox pie. We don't seem to be able to find our place with the Jews or the Christians or the Muslims or the Hindus or the Buddhists, but we keep coming back to pie and and the 14 Forest mice when the season turns.

This year it was warm and we ate outside. It rained on our table just enough to cool the pie, misting in the way that my grandmother used to call "God's spit" and then the sun set with oranges and pinks. It was a real true Harvest moon, and we hopped in the little car and drove around the block twice with our necks craned out the easterly window, searching for the glow of the moon through the hill. Unlike the mice in the book, we didn't find it. The clouds and hills were working against us. Only Joey ended up seeing the moon rise a few hours later- he perched on the crest of the roof and me grumpy at the window, ashamedly afraid of heights.

And what are we celebrating? Well, this one shouldn't be too hard. There is the sunset and the spitty rain, and the one year older. There is the now Kindergarten and 2nd graders, the now real writer, the new kids in Joey's classroom who squeeze his leg. There is the little car, and neighbors, and health, and the house almost finished with all its building. There are friends, and there are things we try to do and do well, and there is town, and all of the world lit up with orange leaves. I could go on, but I'll cut to it. What are we celebrating? Well, of course there is the pie itself.

This is our apple pie. It usually made in haste, and it won't win any beauty contests. But on these days when the white pie dish comes out of the cupboard, we are celebrating everything.

I don't go for a sticky apple pie- I want all fruit and lemon and cinnamon. The balance has continued to change over the years and I assume that it will continue to do so. That's the thing about balance--it continues to change. I think these front yard apples made the best pie pie yet though If you have those, use them, but otherwise find someone else's front yard apples. Those will work too. But the celebrating's good for the flavor too--that and vanilla ice cream.

This Year's Apple Pie

1 recipe pie crust
3 1/2 pounds apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tablespoon rum
juice of one lemon
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Roll out your pie crust and place one half of it in a buttered and floured 9-inch pie dish. Combine the remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and toss until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture into pie shell. Roll out the other half of the crust recipe and place it on top of the filling. Cut four vents in the top. Bake for 15 minutes- then turn down the heat to 375 degrees and bake for another hour, or until filling is bubbly and the crust is beginning to brown.

I feel like I've been waiting for apple week forever, and here we are. This week's apples can be found bubbling a crunching and spreading joy all over the internet. Here's a start, from the fall fest family:

• Todd and Diane at White on Rice Couple: Apple picking, and Broiled Leeks with Apple Vinaigrette


• Marilyn at Simmer Till Done: Louisa May Alcott's Apple Slump


• Caron at San Diego Foodstuff: Remaking The Silver Palate Cookbook's Medieval Apple Tart


• Alison at Food2: 22 Awesome Ways to Use Your Apples


• Michelle at Cooking Channel: Apple Dessert Recipes


• Dana at Healthy Eats: 31 Days of Apple Recipes


• Liz at Food Network: Pick the Perfect Apple


• Caroline at The Wright Recipes: Apple Stack Cake and Dark Caramel Apples


• Food Network UK: Five English apples you should know and love


• Gilded Fork: Apples—Sweet Seduction


• Paige at The Sister Project: Third-Prize Apple Pie


• Nicole at Pinch My Salt: Favorite Apple Recipes