If you’re not familiar with San Diego, you might not know about Julian, the mountain community about an hour east of Downtown famous for its apple orchards and pies. October is the prime time for a road trip out to this quaint community with its old-school Main Street full of so many tourists that it’s even hard to find parking during the high season. I think every San Diegan is required to do the whole Julian-Autumn-Apple thing at least once in their lives.

A few years ago, a group of my husband’s friends and their wives took a trip out to Julian. This trip was made extra special because my husband Daniel’s best friend Tim was taking us to his mother’s orchard. We enjoyed a special tour of the trees and their fruit from someone who really knew all of the intricacies of the harvest. We toured the processing part of the farm where the apples are turned into various apple products. Of course, Tim’s mom also offered a little stand where you could buy not only apple-related foods, but also aprons, cookbooks, oven mitts, and basically anything else that could bear a picture of an apple.

That day, I picked up The Apple Lover’s Cookbook. I do consider myself an apple lover even though I don’t eat a ton of them. Apples inhabit a dear place in my heart because my maternal grandparents lived in a tiny town in Kansas where they had an apple tree or two in their backyard. Every year, they would make homemade applesauce and apple butter. My favorite was the apple butter. I’ve never had any quite like my grandmother’s since she stopped making it Now I don’t even try to find a substitute for her apple butter. I should ask her how she does it. Why have I never thought of doing that before?

Anyway, despite proclaiming myself an “Apple Lover,” I’ve actually only made one recipe from that cookbook and it’s printed below. The results are simple but classic and destined to please your guests. I serve it with homemade ice cream and everyone’s happy.

Oatmeal Apple Crunch
From the Apple Lovers Cookbook
Makes 9 servings

6 cups peeled, sliced, apples
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 t cinnamon
1 cup butter
1 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Arrange apples in a greased 8″ square baking dish. Combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add oatmeal and walnuts. Mix well. Sprinkle over apples.

Bake in 350 oven for 50-60 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve warm.