Over the last 22 years, I’ve mentioned my grandfather, John Luke Osteen, several times in these pages. He was born in what’s now Pisgah National Forest and for a few years was the instructor at Toxaway School (before the Chestnut Blight changed everything).
But I’ve never mentioned his wife, the splendid Ruth Lindsay Osteen, who died long before I arrived on this planet. She was famous for her skills in the kitchen, and my father recalled that during the Great Depression, she and my grandfather would often invite down-on-their-luck men and families to dinner for a measure of comfort and human connection.
Since I have a story about local heritage apples in this issue, let me offer her recipe for a marvelous Apple Cobbler, so treasured that she made it specially for my father when he came home from World War II and the Korean Conflict.
Use local apples (of course) which are suddenly available in great numbers at Bryson’s, Ingle’s (in Cashiers), the twin Farmers’ Markets, and Highlands Good Food.
Ruth Osteen’s Mountain Apple Cobbler
Ingredients
• 6 tart apples (peeled, sliced)
• ½ cup sorghum syrup or brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ cup fresh cream or buttermilk
• ¼ cup lard or butter
Instructions
Grease a deep iron skillet with lard. Layer apples, sprinkle with cinnamon, salt, and sweetener. In a bowl, mix flour and baking powder. Cut in lard until crumbly. Stir in cream to make a thick batter. Spoon over apples, leaving gaps for steam. Bake in a woodstove or hot oven (about 375°F) until golden—roughly 30–40 minutes.
Serve warm, maybe with a dollop of fresh-churned cream if the cow’s been generous.
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