It doesn’t take much to make this city girl happy.  The crackling sound of fallen leaves beneath my boots.  A carpet of red, green and golden orbs beneath trees whose limbs are releasing their precious fruit to my care.  Air crisp enough to don a scarf and lightweight jacket, adding to the Fall-ish atmosphere of a day of apple picking, and I’m happy!The love of country living runs deep in my veins.  For as long as I can remember, I have been charmed by rural life.  My fondest childhood vacation memories are of trips to my great-grandmother’s farm in the mountains of West Virginia.  As a child, I delighted in the gathering of fresh eggs from the hen house and picking sun ripened tomatoes right from the garden.  My siblings and I entertained ourselves for hours catching salamanders in the brook just over the hill from the house.  For many years, the old farm house was without indoor plumbing which meant daring, fright-filled adventures to the out-house in the middle of the night.  For this little Girl, life on the farm was the greatest show on earth. No circus or carnival held the possibility for more entertainment and amusement.

Once as a teenager, I remember riding along with my boyfriend as he delivered wood to a young family who lived in a farm house at the end of a winding country road.  It was late December and a pure blanket of white covered the road and adjacent fields for as far as the eye could see.  The husband and wife welcomed us inside where we were offered freshly baked bread warm from the oven, slathered with preserves from the past summer’s bounty.  Nothing more than a wood-burning fireplace heated the house, yet I had never felt so warm.  We left their home dreaming of the day we would have our own land and farm house, so we too could live such an ‘idyllic’ life.  Ah, young love.

I’m sure there are plenty aspects of country/farming life far less romantic than the memories I hold from my youth.  Reading ‘Bean Blossom Dreams’ and ‘The Dirty Life’ set me straight on that account.  But when I can, I welcome the opportunity for any adventure that takes me on a bucolic journey.  Last week, one such adventure came in the form of apple picking in upstate New York.

At many U-pick farms, apple picking has become as commercial as Christmas.  After all, it’s a business and I guess they are smart to make the most of it.  We forewent the moon bounce and corn maze and headed straight for the orchard, but not before stopping to buy bags for our apples.  At this farm you begin with empty pre-purchased small or large bags that are sold at a fixed price.  The goal is to cram as many apples into the bag as one can fit.  When I suggested we ‘start with’ four bags, the look on H’s face prompted an immediate downsizing to a measley three bags.  Come to find out, the small bags hold WAY more apples than I realized.  Row after row of apple trees, varieties of which I cannot get on the West Coast, sent me right to apple heaven.  New to me this year, I discovered the huge, green skinned, Mutzu apple.   Although perfect for baking and cooking, it is my new favorite eating apple.  We also filled our bags with Cortlands, Romes, and Macouns – my best discovery during last year’s picking.

Once back at J’s tiny studio apartment, I was raring and ready to bake.  Her postage stamp sized kitchen presented a few challenges along the way but I thought, if Deb of Smitten Kitchen can do it, so can I!  A little ingenuity, and a whole lot of patience proved to be the recipe for success.  With no food processor or pastry blender, I made the crust using nothing more than a fork and it turned out perfectly.  A little reminder for me to step away from all the gadgets and gismos from time to time and get re-acquainted with the basics.

The secret to this apple pie lies in replacing most of the sugar with maple syrup that has been boiled down to a thickened consistency.  Boiling the syrup intensifies its flavor and add a caramel-y richness.  So delicious is this concentrated syrup, I just couldn’t help myself from drizzling it over the finished pie as well.