apple pie

This pretty much sums up my weekend. It's a little piece of home I can make wherever I am. Takes me back to that same good feeling over and over again. Really, baking pies makes our apartment continue to grow into our first home.

applesauce

Originally, I wanted to make apple butter and pumpkin pancakes this weekend. Big surprise, I changed my mind. When I saw the apples we picked from last weekend on our counter, I wanted nothing else but applesauce.

Applesauce belongs in the top ten easiest homemade awesome yummyness ever. The smell took me right back to days of my mom and grandma canning. My family always used foley food mills to strain the peels and mash the apples for large batches to can. Since I don't have a foley food mill and I only made a small amount, I peeled my apples and mashed it with a wooden spoon. I boiled the peels with the apples to give that pretty pink color (my favorite) and add more nutrients. 

Homemade Applesauce
6 medium-size apples (I used a combination of macoun and liberty)
3/4 to 1 cup water
None to 1/4 cup sugar

Core apples. Peel apples. Chop apples. Use some fresh lemon juice to keep apples from browning.

Mix apples, water, and sugar. Add apple peels (this gives applesauce a pretty pink color and more nutrients). Bring to a boil, cover and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Allow to cool, remove peels, and mash with a fork or potato masher. I didn't even mash it, stirring occasionally made it into a chunky applesauce. Add cinnamon if desired. Serve warm or chill then eat. Makes a small batch: four servings.

I hope you have a chance to make applesauce this fall. The smell alone makes you smile. Enjoy!

apple cider donuts

We drove along single lane roads, mostly lined with trees, random openings of corn and bean fields to Terhune Orchards. Parts of Princeton have a funny way of feeling like the middle of nowhere, and I like that. We spent our Friday afternoon picking apples. Beginning of the season, red delicious, liberty, empire and macoun, but no granny smith. We'll go back. We must for more apples, and I plan on eating apple cider donuts, Fall's version of elephant ears, every Saturday morning for the next month.

The rest of the weekend was good and simple. Homemade pizza, another evening of tea, ice cream, and cider with neighbors, episodes of Mad Men and Parks & Rec, afternoon naps, reading books, church and making friends.