We are all skeptics.

Looks like apples, tastes like apples,
but it's not apples!

My work friends are cool. They are the reason I semi-like going there. They give me great ideas for many of the things on my blog and they are usually the taste testers. My friend Carl, from work, eats a lot of "fake" things and tells us how they taste just like something else. For example, the fake Big Mac. He keeps on telling all of us about the fake Big Mac and how it really does taste just like the real thing. I'm skeptical. How in the world does fake meat ever really taste like a real Big Mac?

This is zucchini,
not apples. Skeptical.

Sliced up and ready to go.
Fake apples.

Well, now that it is fall and everyone's gardens are overflowing, there was a giant zucchini left on the table in the staff lounge, free for the taking. Seriously, this thing was huge. We split it in three and of course, Carl is telling us about this fake apple crisp that you make out of zucchini and that I should try to make it. Skeptical, but intrigued.

Wait! Could it be?
Apple or zucchini?

He emails me the recipe and I take it home, still skeptical, but since I had all of the ingredients, I thought, what the hell. I told Jasen all about this because I sometimes try to trick my family into eating things that they end up loving, but have no clue what's actually in it. Turkey Tacos. He is instantly in for this little journey down the fake apple crisp road. Skeptical.

Here is what we did:
8 cups of thinly sliced zucchini, like you would slice apples if it was real apple crisp.
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon, I actually messed up here and put in 2 Tbs and it was delicious.

topping
1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cups of butter, room temp

My favorite part, the crumbly topping.
Oh how I love you crumbly topping.

Place the slice zucchini and lemon juice in a large sauce pan and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally until they are tender. It takes about 15 minutes. Add the nutmeg, sugar and cinnamon and blend until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and pour into a greased 13x9 glass baking dish.

Make the topping by combining the brown sugar, flour, oats and butter. Mix this all around until it is crumbly. This takes a little work to get it all crumbly, but it is worth the mixing. Sprinkle this over the top of the zucchini and bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until the top is golden. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

The house smelled like lots of cinnamon and we took this out of the oven a little less skeptical because it smelled sooooo good. We scooped it into bowls and topped it with ice cream. Even less skeptical because it looked soooooo good. Then we tasted it. Maybe that fake Big Mac really does taste like the real thing.