My friends are the owners (although proprietors almost seems more apropos, considering the bar in their basement and the homebrew on their taps) of a lovely piece of property south of town. A piece of property, known as the X Bar Ranch, big enough to host a host of folks every fourth (or third, considering the day of the week) of July. I always look forward to this event, much like I look forward to, say, Christmas, or the Victor Continental Show.

It’s kind of a big deal.

Sherry is a hostess extraordinare, and her husband makes the best homebrew in five counties. I mean, they made their own orange soda for this party, people. HOMEBREW ORANGE SODA. On tap. Seriously.

Their friends and acquaintances all gather to blow things up, American-style, and they all bring food, also American-style.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/150.JPG

I happened to have some fruit laying around and needed a dish to cram onto the table with the hundred other dishes I would sample that evening, so I decided to bring a dessert this year. This was big for me, since dessert is the opposite of my strong suit. Still, I forged ahead.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/157_1.JPG

Baking is usually not my thing, because it requires precise measurements and chemistry to get batters and doughs to behave like they are supposed to. I didn’t excel in chemistry in high school or college, so I have long avoided the pastry arts. I think it’s good to know one’s strengths as well as one’s limitations.

So I didn’t feel like tackling pie crust on Saturday morning. I didn’t want to try to concoct a muffin or cake. That all seemed like more work, and more potential for failure than I was up for on my fourth of July weekend. I decided to make a crisp, harkening back to the fruit desserts of my youth. This, I figured, I could even do without a recipe.

So I peeled the apples. It turned out that I peeled too many, so I used three for the dessert and used the other three to make applesauce for the baby. (Sidenote: there is no comparison, people, between store-bought applesauce and homemade. It’s easy to do and so worth the effort.)

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/170.JPG

I happen to have a large supply of aluminum containers in my garage, and I love to take things to parties in them because I always forget to bring my bowl or Tupperware home with me, and as a hostess I know I always hate trying to track down the owners of the various and sundry receptacles left on my table.

So I threw the apples and the berries into my lovely aluminum container and mixed them around with half a cup of brown sugar, a tablespoon of cinnamon, and a tablespoon of cornstarch. (Apples get really juicy when mixed with sugar, so the cornstarch was my attempt to keep my dessert from becoming so runny it required a bowl to be eaten.)

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/176.JPG

That was easy enough. Then I set to making the topping.

I grated the rind of a lemon (and then I squeezed the lemon juice over the fruit, because I can’t waste a lemon) and I combined it with a stick of butter and a little salt in the food processor

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/178.JPG

I added a teaspoon of vanilla to a cup and a half of oatmeal, and added that to the bowl as well.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/185.JPG

Then I added 3/4 of a cup of white sugar and a half a cup of brown sugar, and pulsed until there were no more big hunks of butter in the mixture. It got to a sort of crumbly/solid consistency, which looked good to me.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/187.JPG

With my fingers, I broke the topping into crumbles and covered the fruit. I had a lot of topping, but I used it all, considering that I knew the fruit, when cooked, would get pretty juicy and runny. I thought the extra topping would help soak it up.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/198.JPG

I baked this at 350 for 45 minutes. I kept checking as I went, but it took that long for the apples to get good and soft. The result was delish.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/05/214_1.JPG

It rained on the third of July, the night of our X Bar Ranch party, but it didn’t matter. No stinking rain could stop the siren song of fire and loud noises. No one cared about a few drops while they ate piles of sweet corn and guzzled home brew. Rainouts are for wimps.

Apple-Blackberry Crisp for the Non-Baker

3 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
2 C blackberries
1 T cornstarch
1 T cinnamon
1/2 C brown sugar
juice of one lemon

For the topping:

1 1/2 C oatmeal
1 stick of butter
3/4 C white sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
dash salt
grated rind of one lemon

Step 1) Combine the filling ingredients in a baking dish (or aluminum throw-away pan).

Step 2) Combine the topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse until there are no large lumps of butter left.

Step 3) Cover the fruit mixture with the topping, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until the fruit is soft and the top looks like there is some liquid bubbling through.

Seriously, could this be easier? It’s a fresh-tasting dessert and in my mind I tell myself it’s also healthier than a dough-y, frosting-y dessert. Right? RIGHT?