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My oldest son called me this morning to tell me he’s planning to come home for a visit.  He just flew back from France, where he spent two weeks as a film intern at the Cannes Film Festival.   Since his summer classes don’t start for another week and his college is only 4 hours away, he thought he would come back home.

It’ll be so nice to see him and hear all the details of his time in France.

I always love to have something special prepared for my older kids as they return home and this was the perfect excuse to use the beautiful red strawberries I had on hand.  I decided to make a Strawberry Apple Crisp to welcome him home.

The strawberries and apple provide great flavor and texture contrasts.  Since these fruits are both so sweet, I didn’t need to add much sugar to the filling.

I used graham cracker crumbs, oats and brown sugar in the topping which made the crisp perfectly sweet and crunchy.

INGREDIENTS

FILLING

1 quart of strawberries rinsed, hulled and sliced (it comes out to about 4 cups)

1 medium apple, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

TOPPING

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 sticks of butter

DIRECTIONS

Put the cut-up strawberries and apples in a small oval cooking dish or a 8×8 inch baking pan.

Add  the cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice to the fruit and mix well.

Prepare the topping.

Using a food processor or a large bowl, add in the graham cracker crumbs, the oats and brown sugar.  Pulse a few times if you’re using the food processor or use a fork to mix well in the large bowl.

Cut the cold butter into small pieces and add it to the mixture.  Use either a fork or your hands to blend the butter in.  If you’re using the food processor, pulse until the butter is distributed well throughout.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 35-40 minutes or until the top is browned and the strawberries are bubbly.

Serve with vanilla ice cream, if you’d like.