Fragrant. Crisp. Juicy. Delicious.
If you've never had a fresh-picked apple -- oh man!
You don't know what you are missing!
Each October, the little Mountain community of Springville, California hosts an Apple Festival. For two days, the streets are filled to the brim with locals and tourists alike. The local service clubs of Springville began the festival in the early 1980's as a way of supporting and giving back to the town. The aroma of apple-laden goodies permeates the air- a creative array including caramel apples, deep fried apple pies and apple burritos! This year, they expected a crowd of 25,000 plus! If you're in the area, check it out next year :)
Homemade Applesauce!
Smooth or Chunky? Cinnamon or Brown Sugar?
Granny Smith or Red Delicious?
My beautiful friend, Laine & her husband, Brandon are gracious hosts and wonderful cooks. Really! I've always put off making my own applesauce and she kept bragging about how wonderfully easy it really was. So today, with my paper bag o' Springville apples, I set out on my own applesauce adventure using Laine & Brandon's super simple recipe.
- 16 medium apples: Cored, Peeled, and Quartered
- 2 Cups of Water
- 1 Cup of Sugar (I used 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. white sugar)
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon ( I used a bit more)
I believe that Laine and Brandon cook their applesauce on the stove top but I was feeling a bit rebellious so I chose to use the slow cooker instead. I combined all of the ingredients in the removable dish, and snapped on the lid. It cooked in about 4 hours on high. As the apple begin to soften and breakdown, use a potato masher to make the sauce chunky or smooth (your preference). The scent wafting through the house was absolutely incredible! If you'd like to make it in a much more time efficient fashion, here ya go:
Simmer apples and water in large pot for 10 minutes. Add sugar and spice, continue simmer on a little higher heat, 1-4 minutes. As apples break down begin mashing them with potato masher in the pot. Let it cool, then place in jars or tupperware. Serve warm over vanilla bean ice cream (my favorite!) or chilled as the perfect Autumn meal companion.
Simple, right? :-)
Keep on smiling,
Sunshine
"Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips will praise You." -- Psalm 63:3
0 comments:
Post a Comment