Tag: fall

Misc

Fall

Post author By Gerry
Post date October 7, 2013
1 Comment on Fall

This stuff looks nice:

But this is the inevitable followup:

Time to get the rake out.

Tags fall

Misc

Mt. Greylock

First, let me just say that Mt. Greylock has to be one of the coolest names for a mountain.

It sits in the Northeast of Massachusetts and is the highest peak in the state, standing 3491 feet above sea level. It has an interesting history and was one of the first preserves started in the statei, starting as a 400 acre preserve to stop the practice of strip foresting. The preserve has expanded to over 12000 acres today. It’s on the Appalachian Trail and has a lodge at the summit for weary hikers to grab a hot meal and a dry night’s sleep.

We arrived there on Friday, along with a number of other friends, to celebrate a birthday. Not mine. It was raining pretty good for most of the day, and particularly at Mt. Greylock. We saw a lot of runoff areas as we were wound our way to the summit:

They’re actually designed into the road, as it pools in large drain areas that shunts the water under the road. Otherwise, we’d be driving through all that.

This is Bascom Lodge, which sits at the summit:

It’s as rustic inside as it looks from the outside. The lodging is simply rooms with bunks in them. The dining room seats probably 50 or so, though there is a covered porch on the back side with more seating. The menu is whatever they are cooking for the night. Though I will say, the food was good.

During our arrival, the rain basically killed the views. It also drenched me as the parking lot is about 100 yards from the lodge. With the wind, it was raining horizontally, so the umbrella didn’t help me much during my walk. I also have a bad wheel at the moment, so my walk was leisurely.

But it started clearing yesterday morning, so we were able to get some nice pictures after all.

This is the Veteran’s War Memorial Tower which is also at the summit. We couldn’t see it at all the night before, even from the lodge. That’s how cloudy and foggy it was. You can climb the tower up to a room that’s just below the globe on the top. From their, you have views into New York, Connecticut, Vermont and Eastern Mass.

To the North:

To the South:

To the East:

To the West:

Of course, the views are further when there aren’t so many clouds. But it’s kind of cool that we seemed to be at the same height as the clouds.

Finally, a few final shots from the road as we were leaving yesterday:

Tags fall, Mt. Greylock

Misc

Apple Crisp

Fast becoming a family favorite is apple crisp. Of course, it’s hard to go too wrong with apple crisp, but there are definitely better recipes than others. Here’s the one I’ve used the past couple times I’ve made it:

About 4-5 pounds of Macoun and Cortland apples. If these aren’t available, then go with something that’s sweet and crisp, but not hard. No Granny Smiths.
2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 cups of white flour
2 cups of Brown sugar, divided into 1 cup portions
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of Cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

You’ll also need a 9×13 casserole dish and a couple of mixing bowls. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start by combining 1 cup of the brown sugar, the salt, the nutmeg and the cinnamon. Set aside for a moment and then skin and cube the apples, placing them into a mixing bowl. Add the brown sugar mixture and stir the apples into the sugar until everything is coated, including your hands. Take a moment to lick your hands clean, then pour the apple-sugar mixture into the casserole dish and set aside.

Now for the topping. Mix the flour and oatmeal together. Cube up the sticks of butter and start combining it with the flour, but don’t try to do it completely. Stop when the flour get crumbly- there will still be chunks of butter.

Now add the remaining brown sugar and the granulated sugar. Work the sugars into the mixture until it takes on a coarse, crumbly texture. Most, if not all, of the butter will be absorbed into the mixture.

When the topping is completed, distribute it across the apples. Fill in until the top is completely covered with the topping. Throw it in the oven and bake for an hour. The topping should just be starting to brown at this point. Leave it in the oven for as long as it takes to brown the topping to your liking.

Take it out and wait for a few minutes. No really- it’s still too hot to eat yet. It just came out of a hot oven!

I like to eat mine with a generous dollop of vanilla ice cream. I’d post a picture of the batch I made tonight, but we ate it. Too bad for you, but good for us.