Picking Apples

I'm sorry the blog posts have been rather sparse lately (just in case you noticed.  *knock knock*.  Hello?  Anyone out there? *Crickets chirping* . . .)

Fall is so busy around here.  Not only does it coincide with the start of homeschool, Classical Conversations, but it also coincides with, nay, COLLIDES with Canning Season.

In my house, Canning Season is a Big. Deal.

The apple crop this year was thankfully very good.  Last year we didn't get any apples in our area, and this year the frosts in the spring insured that we weren't going to get any pears.

We have two young apple trees in our back yard, but because the kids use those trees as their forts/castles/mountains/pirate ships/all-purpose hangout, by the time the apples are ripe they've long since fallen prey to childhood ingenuity.

So far I've yet to have eaten an apple from our own tree.

Anyway, there's a house here in town belonging to a lovely elderly lady, and every fall she kindly lets us come and pick as many apples as we like.  

They're not sprayed, so they might have a few more holes or brown spots, but I say that's a small price to pay for, well, not paying any price for organic apples

 The kids are a huge help.  I think Peter was a Kangaroo during this stage of the operation.

Miss Boo loves picking apples from the ladder.  The added height gives her a sense of superiority.  (As though she was lacking in that area to begin with.)

Gabe wasn't happy that I wouldn't let him climb the ladder, and spent most of the time pouting.

Seriously, though, the child has climbed enough things in his short lifetime.  He can miss out on one experience.

Homemade Applesauce Tutorial

Fall is such a wonderful time of year, and if you're lucky enough to have a lot of apples, you might want to make some applesauce.

(This is an especially good idea if you have apples that might be a bit too tart to just eat fresh.)

 

Start with a lot of apples and a very happy baby.  (Happy baby optional).

 

Peel and core all the apples, or as many apples as you can fit in your large stockpot.  An apple corer like this is invaluable if you have a lot of fruit to get through. 

 

A cute helper is also invaluable too, but I wouldn't recommend going to the store and grabbing one.  Stick with grabbing an apple corer.  Much safer.

  

(If you leave the peel on the apple and your apples are very red, you will get "pink applesauce".  Be aware that this will add a few minutes to the cooking time and I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you have organic apples.)

Once you have them in the pot, add about two inches of water.  Add more water if you like your sauce more runny, or less if you like your sauce thicker.  (Just be warned, if you don't add enough water your sauce is more likely to burn.)

 

Stirring occasionally, cover and cook on high until the apples are nice and soft, about 20 minutes or so.

 

Add your ingredients.  Generally for 16 cups of applesauce I add 2 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of salt.  If I were making this purely for my own tastes (and not for those of my picky but boring-palated family) I would also add 1 teaspoon of nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of allspice, as well as a pinch of ground cloves. A bit of ground ginger might also be a nice touch. 

(Please note that the amount of sugar will depend on the sweetness of your apples.  Start with 1 cup of sugar and add more to suit your taste.)

Hmm, perhaps I'll make a small batch just for myself . . .

I like to use an immersion blender, but you can also transfer your sauce to a blender or food processor if you want it to be smooth.  Otherwise, your apples should be soft enough that you can blend them fairly well by just using a sturdy spoon.

If you have enough sauce that you want to can it, ladle the hot sauce into clean mason jars, leaving about a 1/2 inch of head space.  Cover with new (and washed, of course) lids and rims and put in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.  You can also use a pressure canner, but I never do it that way as for me the water bath method is easier.

 

All done!  Let the jars sit on the counter until they cool before storing in your pantry.

(I realize that there are different was to make applesauce and lots of cool gadgets that might make things easier.  This is just how I do it and I thought I'd share my method with anyone who might be interested.  Let me know if you make some and I'll commiserate with you on the state of your kitchen!)

A Pleasant Surprise

Isn't it nice to know that things like unexpected kindness and good customer service still exist?

Two weeks ago I was was using my beloved Pampered Chef pan in the oven, and it suddenly cracked for no reason that I could determine. Although I had no sales receipt, no idea who the Pampered Chef consultant was who sold the pan to me, and no idea when I bought it, the company kindly mailed me a replacement pan without any hassles or water boarding questioning techniques.
Then, on top of that unexpected note of cordiality in the human species, I was so surprised to receive a bucket of pears that I didn't even have to pick!

(Let me back up and explain that I was driving in my town and noticed a pear tree dripping with pears that were begging to be canned, so naturally I stopped and rather inanely asked the man in his driveway if I could come back the next day and pick his pears. I should perhaps mention that this lack of shame when it comes to getting something free is a common failing in my family, and I blame it entirely on genetics. Anyway, when I returned the next day, he and his two boys had already picked all the pears for me!)
Fourteen quarts of delicious pears and a pear crumble later, I am still smiling from that gift!
(Now I just need to remember to drop off a bit of apple butter as a thank you . . . .)

The Bottom of the Barrel

. . . or laundry basket, if you will.I am in hopes that sometime soon we will have a very hard frost that will kill every sort of produce that is producing at this present time of production.

Also, I have discovered something -

- if I drive myself completely batty during Canning Season, I actually look forward to winter.

My strategy of self-induced insanity seems to be working nicely.

Forty Six

. . . quarts of applesauce.
A very nice family (of a name that shall remain nameless, whom we shall refer to as "Mr. B and Mrs. B") have invited us over several times this summer to pick (i.e. invade in a Genghis Khan fashion) their apples.
This place (which is in an undisclosed location and shall be referred to as "The Farm") has lots of fun stuff for the kids to do and lots of ways in which the kids can get into trouble.
They love it.


Mr. B let me, All-Natural Mama and I'm Just Saying (yes, that's her blog title) come and pick several bushels of apples. Of course, since I don't use bushels, I should probably say he let us pick several laundry baskets of apples.

I have to admit, baskets of apples are lots more interesting than baskets of dirty stinky clothes!

We used every method to pick apples; ladders, apple picker on a pole, shaking the snot out of the tree limbs resulting in a hail of apple bombs falling on wee little heads below, etc. (Well, all except last year's method of using my mini-van as a ladder). Mr. B had an even snazzier way to pick apples; I got into the bucket of his front-end loader and it hoisted me up into the tops of the apple trees. Very interesting.

And no, you can't see a picture of that. I was too busy hanging on for dear life. (And I conveniently "forgot" my camera).
Lots of fun, lots of apples, and best yet, lots and lots of applesauce, apple butter, and . . . .


. . . . apple pies! (For my assembly line freezer directions click here).

Pear Sauce 101

Last weekend, just when I thought I was at the end of my canning marathon and could practically smell the scent of freedom, Handyman came in carrying a bag of pears.

A bag. A big bag. A disgusting amount of pears. (Note: "obscene" is the measurement for laundry baskets of something. "Disgusting" is the measurement for enough of anything to fill a trash bag.)
I took a deep breath, reminded myself to be very thankful for the bounty of pears, rolled up my dirty sleeves, and started making pear sauce.

To start, get a willing assistant, preferably one who doesn't pick her nose.
Cut each pear into halves or quarters, using a SHARP knife. Don't waste your time with blunt knives. I think I've expressed my opinion enough about knives, but let me state again - get a good knife, and keep it sharp. You only need one, so throw the rest of them away and save counter space and appendages. More cut fingers happen from using blunt knives than from any other cause.
Remove the seeds. You can easily do this by putting the knife at an angle to the pear and cutting out the middle.
You can also just cut each pear into halves and remove the seeds with a spoon. This is a bit messier, but faster, in my opinion. At this point in the canning season, you should just give up all hope of ever seeing your counter tops again, and give in to the truth that nothing exists but canning. Then get back to work, because the fruit flies are entertaining the idea of carrying off your children as hostages.
Put the pears in the biggest pot you've got, and add a little bit of water. Pears tend to be much more watery than apples, so just add enough water to keep the bottom of the pan from burning.
Cover, and boil for 30 minutes or so, until the pears are squishy. Squishy pears - yum.

At this point, if there's an excess amount of water, drain it off. Then put the pears in a food mill and mash the pear guts through the holes. Squishy pear guts - double yum. The food mill removes the skins from the pears.

Then, put the squished pear guts into clean quart jars, and then can them in a water bath for 25 minutes. (Click here if you need more information on water bath canning).

Remove the jars, and then, of course, add the cool labels. Sit back and feel all virtuous and smug. Then take a good look at your kitchen and run screaming for the hills.
(Note: Pear sauce does NOT need any sugar or sweeteners, so it's an excellent health food. It tastes fantastic on its own, but is a great replacement for syrup on waffles or as a spread on fresh bread.)

Apple Pie for Nutters Like Me

Canning. And baking. And generally making a terrific mess in the kitchen.

Have you ever heard that song from Snow White, "Someday My Prince Will Come"? Well, lately I've been singing my own modified version entitled, "Someday My Kitchen Will Be Clean".

However, it is wonderfully satisfying to know that the results of my labors are tidily piling up in the basement, ready to be used at a moment's notice. Apple sauce, apple butter, canned veggies, frozen green beans, all organic of course, and now, (insert a trumpet bugle here) Ten Apple Pies.

(Let me give credit here to my friend Flip Floppin' Mama, who first told me the wonderful secret of freezing pies. Her pies are much better than mine, as she is an official blue ribbon winner, but I muddle along as best I can.)

Okay, to start off with, you need apples. Acquiring these apples involves a large does of humiliation, dirt, and lack of self-respect. Simply drive around town until you see a well-endowed apple tree in someone's front yard. Knock on the door and cheerily ask if aforementioned apple tree is going to be picked, and if not, if you can pick it. Try to be as charming as possible, and keep the scary stalker aspect of one's character in the background. (What can I say, I'm from a family of florists. We stalk well-manicured lawns and shrubberies. I was once ordered to steal stephanotis vine from a yard while a police hold-up was going on across the street. I was 8. My career in floral thievery started early)

If you are lucky, you will have a nice short apple tree to pick apples from. However, since most people who let you pick their apples don't actually prune their trees, you're usually reduced to drastic measures to get the apples. Shaking the tree helps, but beware of concussions. A metal rake is also useful for grasping high limbs. When all else fails, use what's available.Then, make a pot of tea to renew your sense of calm and serenity. Earl Grey tea or English Breakfast tea are two of my personal favorites. Mix it with a spoonful of good honey and a tiny bit of milk, and you're ready to tackle the apples again.And of course, tea must be drunk from a tea cup. Anything less would be blasphemy - and low-class. We're all about high society living here on Yarn Over. (Ignore the earlier picture of me standing on top of my van).
Okay, now for the apples.

First, start with an obscene amount of apples. "Obscene" is my official measurement for enough of anything to fill a laundry basket. After all, isn't a pile of laundry "obscene" to the senses of any woman who must wash it?Peel and core each apple. If you have to do this by hand, just shoot yourself now. Otherwise, be smart and get an apple corer/slicer. Trust me, if you have an obscene amount of apples to deal with, it will be worth the money. You can find them at Wal-mart or any other store with a decent supply of kitchenware.
Of course, I live in a rural town, where canning supplies are kept next to staples such as milk and bread. I suppose in Atlanta or some other big city it might be a little different . . .

Once you've got about 5-6 cups of sliced and peeled apples, put them in a mixing bowl. (You can also use a large resealable plastic bag and just shake, shake, shake!) Add your own special blend of spices. I usually put a 2/3 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of flour, a bit of cinnamon, a bit of salt, and a bit of nutmeg in my pies. I like allspice a lot, too, but my family has boring taste buds and don't appreciate a good allspice.Don't forget to add the juice from half a lemon. It adds a bit of zing and makes the kitchen smell wonderful, even if it's still a mess.Now we have to get our pans ready. Glass isn't a good idea, since we're going to be putting these pies straight from the freezer into the oven. (Unless you've got special pie plates. Then you can be all hoity-toity.) I just use the tin ones you can get from the grocery store. I have since discovered that cake tins work as well, because Handyman went to the store for me and didn't know the difference between cake tins and pie tins. Trust me, he's very clever in other areas.Spray it with a bit of cooking spray so nothing sticks.

Now put your pie crust in the bottom. Don't be silly and make your own crust. It's SO not worth the effort, no matter what Flip Floppin' Mama says. Trust me, you'll fool lots of people with your own doctored store-bought crust. (Brand doesn't matter, either. Just go with cheap.)Now dump your apple mix into the crust and dot the top with butter. (Note: "dot" means "slather". The purpose of pie is to enlighten your happy senses, not your thighs. If you want something healthy then go chew on a rice cake.)Put your second sheet of pie crust on top and fold the edges from the bottom crust and top crust up and over the top. Seal it by crimping the edges together.Now, to add your own special trick to the store bought crust, brush the top with milk, and sprinkle a bit of sugar and cinnamon on the top. It makes the crust flaky and crisp. (And besides, what could be better than more sugar?)

Don't forget to put a few holes in the top with a fork. Don't go overboard with this. It should not look like Swiss cheese. There's a reason you don't see apple pies with a lattice-top crust - apples need to "steam" more to cook, and if there's too many holes, the heat escapes too quickly. Therefore, you'll get a cooked crust and crunchy apples. Not good. We're talking a tragedy of epic proportions here.
Get out a large gallon-sized resealable plastic bag, and write your instructions on top. Trust me, it's MUCH easier to do it now than later once the pie's in there.
Slip the pie in, seal shut, but slip a straw into the edge before sealing completely closed. Exhale deeply and then suck all the air out of the bag. It's my home version of vacuum packing. It's cheap, works great, and you don't need another appliance cluttering your counters.Don't try this with soup, though.

You're done! When you next start craving some apple pie and don't want to spend 30 minutes putting one together, just pop one out of the freezer and straight into the oven. No defrosting necessary, and it only takes a tad bit longer in the oven.
Fresh apple pie and a cup of strong tea. It is sooooo much better than having a clean kitchen.