Autumn's arrival...

Ah, autumn. My favorite season ~ I’m so glad it has finally arrived. Unfortunately, it arrived at my house with a bit of a bang. One of the large oak trees in our front yard dropped another massive limb overnight for no apparent reason ~ well, other than the tree is old. And sick, most likely. It’s the third giant limb it has dropped, the second in the last few months. And it also now has some new fungus growing on it; it appears to be Chicken of the Woods, which, while edible, is not good for the tree. We have tried to save it; we had an arborist come out a few months ago after the last limb dropped and at that time, it was put down to the age of the tree and it starting to deteriorate. The arborist examined it, etc., and we had it trimmed and tended where necessary in the hopes of keeping it stable. But the arrival of fungus is a new development since then and healthy trees don’t continually drop limbs. I’m afraid we’re just going to have to have it cut down, as much as I hate to do it. We still have several other old trees in our yard that are in good shape, so there’s that. And since we’re talking about fresh starts this month here anyway, cutting down the tree would be a fresh start for that part of our yard ~ we would be able to plant things that need sun, which would be nice.
Well, anyway, dealing with all of that means I need a treat, so I made my mom’s Raw Apple Cake, which is always delicious and the perfect welcome for fall. I’m going to take a slice of that and enjoy it with my new Victoria magazine. This is my favorite apple cake and it’s always a hit with everyone, so here’s the recipe again. Happy autumn, everyone.

Mom’s Raw Apple Cake

Mix together in bowl by hand:
3 cups chopped baking apples
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups oil
2 eggs, well-beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Sift together:
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients with apple mixture. Add 1 cup chopped nuts (optional).

Spread in greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for an hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. (It may take longer than an hour, depending on your oven.)

Note: This cake is a cross between a cake and a coffee cake, if that makes sense. It’s perfect for dessert or with your coffee in the morning or for a snack. The cake will keep up to three days, covered. After that, though, you’ll find it becomes too moist (at least for my taste) so plan to eat it within a couple days. Mind you, it never seems to last that long at my house, but you never know.

Photos by The Art of Living Beautifully