I'm falling for you, fall.

Okay, its taken me a few weeks to get into the spirit of fall. I've been clinging to those long summer nights and those bushes of berries--wild and cultivated. But, I've begun to remember why fall is my favorite season (do I say that at the beginning of every season?):

The frequent appearance of the color orange and its other fiery relatives. The crispness in the morning air. Evening fires in our wood burning stove. Homemade chai. Apples drooping from the tree. Sunday morning steeler's games accompanied by pancakes. Wild mushrooms! The desire to bake and to add spices to said baked goods.

I have to thank Justin for truly getting me psyched on the coming season. He has made it a goal this year to make use of every apple from our two loaded trees. Whoa! He began a few weeks ago with apple sauce. I countered his sauce with an apple pie. He responded with breaking out the food dehydrator and producing a mound of apple rings. I made an apple crisp. Then, came apple-ginger juice....

But the piece de resistance has defiantly been his apple dutch baby. He threw it together on a lazy saturday morning when i was going back and forth about what to eat for breakfast. That's one thing I love about him; when I can't decide what to eat or am too lazy to make something, he often produces something special.

Justin will tell you that an apple dutch baby is simple and not deserving of an entire blog post; I totally disagree. It comes together quickly with ingredients that are almost always on hand, but the result is quite decadent.

Apple Dutch Baby
recipe adapted from justin's head

1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
2 eggs
2 TBS. butter (melted)
1 apple, sliced into rings
powdered sugar for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Whisk eggs together while melting butter on the stove top.
3. Whisk milk and flour into eggs, then melted butter.
4. Pour mixture into a cast iron skillet and drop apple rings on top.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until puffy. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (and walnuts or pecans) and enjoy.