By January 2022. New year. Index cards: three remaining. The project is nearly done and I am thinking about what the ending of it means and also about what it does not mean, which is that the cooking stops or that the learning stops. The cards are forty-seven recipes from two women whose kitchens I have been lucky to learn in. They are not all the recipes there are. They are the beginning of everything I will ever cook.
The dissertation data analysis is complete and I am writing chapter four. The findings hold up to every test I have run. The teacher-child relationship moderates language outcomes in a way that is statistically significant and clinically meaningful. What teachers do matters in ways that can be measured. What Gloria did for me at fourteen can be verified in data. I knew it before the data. The data agrees with me. That is the best feeling in research: when what you know from living meets what you can prove from numbers.
Made the first recipe from January: her mother apple pie, which is card forty-five, and which I have been saving for winter. The pastry is lard-based, which makes it more tender than butter, and the filling is not too sweet, just apples and cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg and a squeeze of lemon. The pie was extraordinary in the simple way: it tasted like what pie should taste like. Pure and clear and not trying too hard. The best pies do not try hard. They just are what they are.
Card forty-five was apple pie — lard pastry, tender and unfussy — and it felt right to close out the project with something in that same spirit: apples, warmth, and nothing trying too hard. This Ninja Foodi Apple Crisp carries that same honest simplicity. When the data is done and the writing is nearly done and you just need something sweet that tastes like it knows what it is, this is the recipe you reach for.
Ninja Foodi Apple Crisp
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 4 medium apples (Granny Smith or Honeycrisp), peeled, cored, and sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
Instructions
- Prepare the filling. Toss the sliced apples with the granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and lemon juice until evenly coated. Spread into the Ninja Foodi’s lightly greased inner pot or a 7-inch baking pan that fits inside the basket.
- Make the crisp topping. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and work them in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs.
- Assemble. Spread the topping evenly over the apple filling, pressing it gently to adhere.
- Air-crisp. Place the pan in the Ninja Foodi basket. Set to Air Crisp at 350°F for 18–20 minutes, until the topping is deep golden and the apple juices are bubbling around the edges.
- Rest and serve. Let the crisp rest for 5 minutes before serving. Spoon into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream or a pour of cold heavy cream if you like.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 248 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 8g | Carbs: 43g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 105mg