Apple Sauce...


A few weeks ago, we picked our apples.
One tree for us...


One tree to the food bank.
(they now take fresh produce if you didn't know)


A lot of you emailed me about making apple sauce, so here we go.
It's so easy, and it's not so much a recipe...more of a step by step, do this/do that, add your own spin and there you go!


You have two options - and I've done both. 
1.  Peel all your apples and cut out the core.
Pro - no need to spend money on a food mill.
Con - takes soooo long.
2.  Buy a food mill, peel nothing, cut out nothing.
Pro - no peeling or coring, just chop it rough and dump it in.
Pro - you can use the food mill for other things.
Con - you may prefer a chunky style sauce
Con - you have to buy a food mill.


I have a food mill as I hate to peel apples.  A few yes, but 67 - no.
So, I chop off the tops and bottoms.
 As they are from our tree, I also chop off anything that may appear unsightly!
(As if I have any of that business going on)
And now, a small preach from the organic farmer:
Organic apples are best to use as they are now number 1 on the dirty dozen list of pesticide covered fruits. 
Thank you for your time, carry on...


dump them all into a large pot...


...or three!  
We had a lot of apples on one small tree.
I added about 7 cups of water to each pot, you can also add apple juice instead of water. 
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.


*Intermission* 
I'm going through a huge quinoa kick right now.


Back to the sauce...
Pop in and give it a stir often.  
It doesn't take long to break down, but it does vary depending on your apple variety.  
These apples took about 25 minutes to turn to mush.


Very thick mush!


Now, if you pre-peeled your apples, then you can skip this bit.
If you bought a food mill, then just ladle the hot sauce into the mill and work it though.
All the bits, skin and seeds will stay in the food mill.  
Lovely hot apple sauce comes out the bottom.


This is where you can freelance it.
Add some sugar - but only if you like - you don't have to add anything.  
We add enough sugar to take the bite off as I have a toddler who will freak if it's sour.  
Add a bit at a time, stir it in and taste it.  
If you are happy, then it's perfect!


You can add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves - whatever you like.  
It's entirely up to you and your taste buds.
Do some plain and some with cinnamon.  
I've also made Blause with a friend last year - apples and blueberries cooked together.  
It was divine!


You can now process it in jars, or, even easier - freeze it in ziplock bags or freezer containers.
Do small rations like 1/2 a cup or one cup so it doesn't go to waste if you don't eat it all up
I canned half and froze the other half.

Creepy but Fun...


I did a fall/Halloween arrangement for HGTV.ca


It's very pretty, very easy and has just the right amount of...


creep.


Pop over and have a look.

I've Gone Squirrelly...


I don't know what has come over me this past week.


I've de-junked my whole home, 
I'm storing away herbs for the winter..


...and I'm finally parting with the baby stuff.
Sigh  
Sob
..another sob.


Tomorrow is apple sauce day..which I will share with those of you who asked.
And I will get that scone recipe to you too.   
Right after I store my sauce away in it's new designated cupboard space.
I'm like a squirrel on crack.
I'm confused..do I store it or do I toss it?????? 
Ug.

If you find yourself any where near the Urban Fare in Yaletown (Vancouver) this Saturday, Missing Goat will be sampling the line of jams.  It's a great time to taste them all!
12pm - 4pm

Thanksgiving Observations...


 
  







Quiet and lovely.
Of course, I've got a lot of apple sauce to make now...

A Good Chore...


We grow and dry our own certified organic lavender for our 
Missing Goat Blueberry Lavender Jam.


This time each year, we have a chore...


...stripping off the blooms.


Thousands of stems of lavender..


...left naked.


But then we have this giant pile.


Stored in bags and used all year round.


My house smelled divine...till we cooked fish for dinner.

Waking up Early...


Happy October to you all! 
I had a great week and got to produced three fun Halloween stories for the HGTV blog.
Pumpkins, spiders and feathers! 
Creepy pretty fun.  My favourite.
I'll let you know when they run.
I adore the fall and I could spend hours in the garden taking photos.


This little mushroom is new to our yard.
You have to get up early to see him as he shrivels away by noon.
Next morning he's there again.
He's like a jelly fish out of water.


Kale covered in the morning mist...
..yikes, shoot me know, that sounded like the start of a very bad poem.


Pretty fall flowers.


The blueberry bushes are turning red...


... anenomes are still blooming.


...we have more asian apple pears than we know what to do with.
Do you know what to do with?


..and finally, in October, I have my first zuchinni of the year.
Our weather really was strange this year.


Speaking of gifts from the garden, 
we were given some honey from our bee keeper.
Well, our ex-bee keeper.


Sadly, he's become allergic to bee stings.