Homemade Applesauce!

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Last week was hard.  Naps have been wobbly at best and then you add some night time cry-outs to make for a sleep-deprived tot and mama.  No fun.  But our week had some real bright spots too.  It started off with a fun tot play party on Monday morning and closed with a family pizza party on Friday night.  So nice!  And in the middle we had good times with Eli's grandparents.  Making the applesauce one afternoon after preschool is a great memory.  Thanks for letting us pick the apples on your tree, Laura!  And many thanks to Eli's grandparents who helped supervise Eli cooking but also helped prepare umpteen apples.  I'm so very grateful for the help we had during that crazy week!

As for the applesauce...   It was my first homemade batch and it was so easy!  Yeah, it took a while to peel, core, and cut up the apples, but it was fun.  (Folks who make applesauce a lot apparently cook the apples whole and then force the cooked fruit through a mechanical sieve to remove the unwanted bits.)  Once we had bite-sized pieces, I put them in a thick-bottomed pan on the stove with about an inch of water and cooked them on medium-high heat with the lid on (to keep in the steam), stirring occasionally.  It didn't take long for the apples to go soft.  Once everything was mushy, I took the apples off the burner and used a potato masher to squish them up.  I suppose you'd need a blender to make them perfectly smooth, but chunky style was more appealing to me.  I added some cinnamon (but no sugar).  Mmmm.  So fresh tasting!  So good!  And the house smelled lovely.

FYI:  While looking on the web for tips on making applesauce, I found several places that mentioned you can get "seconds or thirds" at farmer's markets.  These are the misshapen or blemished apples that don't sell well yet are still fine to eat.  Often you have to ask for them as they are not on display, but they are much cheaper and therefore perfect for larger scale cooking projects like applesauce and apple butter.

Comments

[April]

Your applesauce looks like it turned out beautifully, how great to let your little one help out! I love working with apples! ~April

[Jaime]

Really sweet. My kids love any reason to use an apple peeler/corer/slicer we thrifted a couple of years ago. It's such a fun activity, not to mention delicious!

[sunnysideupmama]

mmmmmm....we love applesauce days as well! I always smile to see other littles in the kitchen helping with real work and loving every moment:)
enjoy

[Valerie J. Frey]

Thanks, April, Jaime, and Sunnysideupmama! This was one of those fun, peaceful activities that I am still thinking about fondly long after the last spoonful of sauce. :o)