Tarts for all times.

As September spreads its mantle of color over the land, fingers of red and gold creep into the valleys and hills, and nights grow longer, cooler. With the first frosts not far away and the harvest beckoning from every field, appetites are rekindled, even in the weakest of hearts. The children return ravenous from their days back at school the elders dream of harvests gone by, the middle-aged roll up their sleeves and try to satisfy the hunger of generations on either side.

The close of summer and edge of autumn bring many fiches to our table. We search for simple recipes to case our workload while incorporating as much as possible of the bounty at hand. An obvious vehicle for the array of fruit is pie ... apple, blackberry, fig, even green tomato for those last stubborn specimens that won't ripen on the vine. But not everyone has the gift of time and the ease of hand to turn out a double piecrust at a moment's notice. Have courage ... The quickest pie crust ever is just at your fingertips!

The Friendliest Crust Alive

Madame Reboul raised seven children in a small French village. Each Of those children in turn raised seven, and in no time the grandchildren turned out families of their own. Madame was Forever feeding hungry mouths. Her secret? A two-minute piecrust, perfect for any French-style one-layer tart or pica. For a standard American-style pie dish, scoop eight heaping soupspoons full of flour into a mixing bowl.

Add four brimming soupspoons of oil, four of water, and a pinch of salt.

Stir rapidly with a fork, and pat the dough into your pie plate, working from center outwards until it climbs up the edges.

Variations:

The choice is yours, and the door is open wide ...

For a mild crust, use safflower or grapeseed oil.

For a savory crust use olive oil and add chopped herbs such as rosemary and thyme.

For a nuttier crust, use walnut oil or add wheat germ.

For a sweet crust add a spoonful of sugar.

A French Apple Tart

As apples are a rich part o four September harvest, why not try our hands at a French-style apple tart?

Turn out the two-minute piecrust of your choice.

Peel, halve, and core four large apples.

Slice thinly, and fan out over the pie shell, beginning at the outside and working inward. Overlap each slice as you would flower petals, ending up with a central rosette.

Dot the apples with thin slices of butter, sprinkle with a small amount of brown sugar and a hint of cinnamon if you wish.

Bake for a half hour, until golden, at 350[degrees].

The Pissaladiere

Savory tarts are a French staple, often serving as a light first course, excellent as an appetite opener with a glass of wine. Offer them to your school children when they come in the door, as an alternative to a sugary snack, and see them smile. Provence is famous for its olives, and the following recipe incorporates both the succulent provincial fruit and a generous quantity of onions, which, if you are lucky, you have just stowed away to dry in your shed.

Confect a savory pie crust.

Peel and finely slice four large yellow onions.

Saute them slowly in olive oil until they are translucent.

Spread them out on the bottom of your crust, top with anchovy filets, black olives from Nice (pits included), freshly-ground pepper, a pinch of salt, and several sprigs of fresh thyme.

Bake for 20-30 minutes in a medium hot oven.

Savor with family and friends, and sing an ode to September.

Susi Gott Seguret is a musician/writer/chef, and makes her home in Auxy, France. Always eager to share her passions, she recently initiated the creation of a cooking school at Warren Wilson College, concurrent with the Swannanoa Gathering. The next week-long session will take place in July 2006. For more information, visit www.schoolofculinaryarts.org or www.susigott.com.