hello darkness

Apple Streusel.

Happy Autumnal Equinox. Today the sun is directly over the equator, giving us equal lengths of day and night. Starting tomorrow, the nights will be longer than the days, and Genevieve will enjoy the sunshine for the next six months. See ya, sun. Thanks for a great summer, and say hello to the southern hemisphere.

To celebrate the first day of my favorite season, I made an apple streusel recipe from the Weight Watchers site. The recipe served four, but I adapted it (and re-calculated the points) to serve just one. I am unable to resist desserts with crumbly toppings, so if I made four servings, I would eat all four - one right after the other - and then lick the bowl. So the beauty of one serving is that nothing is left over to lure you back into the kitchen. Works for me.

Single-Serving Apple Streusel
(6 Weight Watchers points)

1 large apple, any kind
1/2 Tbsp butter (softened or slightly melted)
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp Quaker Oats Old-Fashioned Oats

Preheat oven to 350F.

Thinly slice apple and put it in a small baking dish, like a pyrex bowl or a ramekin. Sprinkle cinnamon, lemon juice, and 1 T. of the brown sugar over the apple slices and mix it all up. In another bowl, crumble flour, oatmeal, remaining brown sugar and butter together (I kind of sliced/stirred it with the knife I cut the apple with), and sprinkle over apple mixture.

Bake until apples are tender, about 45 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes or so (if you can wait that long) to let the sugary goodness thicken up.

Ready for the oven.

All gone.

I ate this outside and enjoyed the last hour of sunshine before dark. YUM. I think I'll make it again tomorrow night.