I went apple picking again. Correction– I went apple, crabapple and quince picking, and I went a little crazy. 22 pounds of crazy. The apples are enormous, and delicious, but enormous none the less– imagine the head of a small child, covered in delicate, chewy and edible bright green skin. But apples, unlike so many summer stone fruits, stay fresh for quite some time after picking. Even with this rule in mind, I knew that all of my apples would be needing some assistance in their depletion. So, I made a pie.

I will be the first person to tell you that apple pie is not my favorite; I much prefer the typical pies of summer. I love pie; and I like apples, but I always feel so moderate about an apple pie. So this was a single crust pie that I literally threw together *. But while it was baking, it filled the house with that lovely aroma: of baking apples, of butter, of that remarkable smell of the imminence of the holidays. As I cut slices from the pie, when it had just cooled enough to still hold its shape, my mouth watered just a bit. Then I took a bite, and I have to say, it was a damn good pie.

Maybe it was those gigantic, fresh-picked Mutsu apples that did it. Maybe it was that the apples were roughly diced, rather than primly sliced; or maybe I have just outgrown my prejudice. Either way, eating this pie turned out to be the perfect welcome to the season.

Here is the recipe for an Oatmeal-Crumb Topping, that embellished my pie.

1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

In a medium sized bowl, mix the brown sugar, flour, and oatmeal. Pour the butter over the mixture. With your fingertips, gently toss together, leaving some clumps of the mixture.

Gently pat on top of a raw, single-crusted apple pie. (I chopped my apples rather than sliced them.) Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven, immediately dropping temperature down to 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until golden brown.

* My mother says that I should clarify: You should sweeten/season the apples for the pie however you choose, prior to baking. I tossed my diced apples in brown and white sugar, a few tablespoons of flour, and a modicum of cinnamon, before topping with the oatmeal-crumb mixture.