Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Apple goodness

Since moving to the northwest, I've been taking more interest in the fact that we have good apples more readily available and loving every minute! :) Not only are they a bit cheaper to buy but they aren't all bruised up and old by the time we get them! Sorry, I don't mean to make you jealous, I'm just so excited and have to gush! lol We are big into apples for juicing so this is just such a thrill!

My MIL also brought us some of her apple bounty from Montana, so I needed to find something to do with them in a hurry. (bags on my counter drive me crazy!) Hers were very pretty little apples but also VERY tart! OH my! You should have seen the girls' faces when they tried them! They are used to the very sweet taste of Pink Lady and Fuji so they weren't expecting the tart tastes! lol It was rather entertaining for me tho! ha!
Anyways, we decided to sit down and make applesauce! The girls were just beside themselves that we were going to make homemade applesauce and even more giddy when I told them they could help! We set down to the table with a big bowl of mixed apples (I've heard that makes a better sauce) and I commenced to peeling and coring them.... note my pretty "new" 1950's Pyrex bowl? I just love quality made vintage! ;) Oh, and I already have an apple peeler, slicer, corer on my list of things to get! lol
....after I was done, I'd pass the apples off to my helpers who were armed with their own little cutting boards and butter knives. (We had cold water in the pot we were adding the apples to to keep them from browning) The cutting kept them pretty busy and we just sat, all three working on apples and visiting. And while I can't remember any particular conversations that stand out to me, we had the nicest time just chatting and working together....it was so enjoyable!
When the apples had all been transferred from my pretty bowl to the large soup pot, I poured the water off, added about an inch of water to the bottom of the pot, threw on a lid and put it on high heat till it really got cooking and then turned it down to a medium heat and kept stirring it occasionally...eventually this is what we got! It really was like magic!
I added some sugar and cinnamon for taste and just kept stirring till it looked like this!
....wait for it....
Can you hear it?
The angels were singing....it was HEAVENLY!!!!
When I asked the girls what they thought....as they were stuffing their faces with warm applesauce.... J responded "It's mag-na-fic!" (like on Ratatouille) and then added in " It's better than I could imagine Mom!"
The smile on their faces and the smell that filled my home made it SO worth the mess of apple scraps that littered my floor...I am learning time and time again that it's the joy we find in the little things that seems to last forever. I hope these are memories that the girls will look back on and want to recreate with their kids someday....
What are some memories you have with your loved ones? Were they the big flashing ones, or the simple ones like this? I'd love to hear!

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I love homemade applesauce! I usually make it in the crock pot tho - lots of cinnamon and allspice. Yum!

I'm following you now. Thanks for visiting my blog today. Tina "The Book lady"

Heidi's Blog said...

I enjoy reading your blog. You always have great ideas. One thing I love to do with the girls each year is making a gingerbread house at Christmas time. They love building and then decorating to their hearts content. Some might see it as a messy candy house..but we see it as a masterpiece!

Belly Charms said...

Thanks for stopping by with your "flu shot" answer. My hubby decided against it too after reading all of the mommy posts on my blog. Have a great weekend!!

Amy said...

Wow- I had no idea you could make applesauce. Good work!

Michelle said...

You should add a Victorio Food Strainer to your shopping list. No peeling or coring! All you have to do is chop the apples in quarters and throw them in the boiling water. When they are soft you run them through the food strainer and it takes out all the seeds, stems ect. I just discovered this. You will love it!

Laura O in AK said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog (Field Trip Friday, Alaska State Fair.) Our family LOVES apples and most of the ones we get up here leave a little to be desired. At least it feels that way after years of living in areas with great orchards.

Tiffany said...

I love this and it looks YUMMY!
The BEST memories are never the flashy things in life are they?
I have many SIMPLE memories that I treasure!!!