Sneaky Pie's Cookbook For Mystery Lovers

Dog/Human

NELSON COUNTY APPLE CRISP

Serves 6

5 to 6 juicy apples (about 2 ½ pounds), peeled, cored, and cut into eights

2 teasppons lemon juice

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into very small pieces

¾ cup pastry flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Whipped cream or Nutmeg Sauce (recipe gollows)

Preheat the oven to 375°G F.

In a medium bowl, toss the apples with the lemon juice.

Arrange the apples in a greased pie plate or shallow baking dish (8 × 8 × 2 inches).

In a medium bowl, blend together with your fingers the butter, flour, sugar, and spices as for a piecrust. Press this mixture over the top of the apples.

Bake until golden brown and the juices are bubbling, 1 to 1 ¼ hours.

Serve with whipped cream or Nutmeg Sauce.

NUTMEG SAUCE

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon all—purpose flour

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Pinch of salt

2 to 3 tablespoons water

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar, flour, nutmeg, and salt. Gradually whisk in the water, whisking until well combined.

Allow the mixture to cook at a rolling boil for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from the stove and serve while hot over the apple crisp.

I DON’T KNOW why the dogs like this but they do.

Horses love apples. However, never turn a horse out in a field with an apple tree that’s still producing fruit because the horses will eat apples that aren’t ripe, tearing them off the branches, or they’ll eat the overripe fruit that’s fallen to the ground. Either way, you’ve got a sick horse.

I enjoy sitting in an apple tree in springtime. The activity dazzles me—bees everywhere, caterpillars, and birds chasing after the caterpillars. For a cat, an apple tree is a little bit of heaven.