Unplugged Challenge: Fruit...

...after my weekend in Upstate New York, i had all things fall on my mind. fall, among other things, makes me think of apple picking - something i remember doing with my family during childhood (one of my favorite photos is of my two sisters and i, sitting on the back of my grandparent's truck, in the midst of an apple orchard).

so the unplugged challenge of fruit had me wanting to do some apple picking. sadly, there doesn't seem to be many local apple orchards around us - this was a shock to the girl who grew up in a town that hosts it's own apple festival each year. we opted to instead make a trip to the local farmers market - i knew ben would enjoy picking out apples. we came home with two bags of courtland apples, as well as a flat of pansies, and our first pumpkin of the season.











since the weather was beautiful, we took our supplies outside - cutting board, peeler, apple slicer & corer, knives, bowls and pots, and got to work - peeling, slicing and sorting.















once we had a big pot full of sliced apples, we made applesauce.

Applesauce (from The Joy of Cooking)

3 lbs. cooking apples, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1/2 to 3/4 c. apple cider or apple juice, depending on the juiciness of the apples
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 large cinnamon stick

Cover and simmer, stirring often, over low heat until tender, but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Stir in:

1/4 c. sugar or 6 tbsp. mild honey
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground mace
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Cooking, stirring, until the sweetener is dissolved and blended, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Discard the cinnamon stick. For chuncky applesauce, break up the apples with a wooden spoon. For medium texture, crush with a potato masher. FOr smooth sauce, use a food processor.

though i like more chuncky applesauce, i knew a smoother consistency would be a bigger hit around the house, so we processed the cooked mixture in the food processor. i kept a big bowl for eating now, and canned 6 jars to enjoy throughout the winter












easy to make, lots of ways for little hands to help, and delicious - i'd say this was a successful project all around...