Applesauce

All my life, I've not really been able to answer 'what's your favorite color.'  I like a lot of them for different reasons and I like different colors depending on my mood.  Recently, however, I've come to the realization that I absolutely love the peacock blue color that has been popular the last couple years.  I suppose if I was made to answer the popular question, I'd have to chose this color.  It's the same blue as the one in my sweater here:

Now, this is not to say that blue...any old blue would be my favorite color.  Since before we were married, I've teased my husband about what I like to call 'bachelor blue.'  It's kind of a navy, I suppose.  It seems as though every time we tried to pick any towels, sheets, anything...he gravitated to this color.  I also noticed that many bachelors I know seem to love this color as many things in their house.  Do I tease him about this simple to be ornery?  Yes...yes I do.

Now, you may be thinking 'why is she talking about colors under the title applesauce?'  

Your guess is as good as mine.

If I had to pick a favorite food, it would be applesauce and toast.  Technically, that's two foods, I know.  But the buttery wholesomeness of toast coupled with the tart goodness of applesauce, well it's just a match made in heaven.  I eat this when recovering from the stomach flu, when I'm sad or just whenever I can't think of anything else.  Come to think of it, I also like fried eggs and toast...but this post is about applesauce so I promise to stick to the point from here on out. 

Growing up, we had several apple trees in the yard.  This meant for lots and lots of canned applesauce every year.  My brothers and I would take turns pushing the cooked apples through a sieve.  It seemed to take days, but I'm sure I'm being dramatic here.  Imagine my dissapointment when I left home and tried to buy applesauce in the store.  All I found was white, tasteless stuff.  I remember asking my mom how to find the brown applesauce.  She replied 'well, dear, we used to make our own, remember?'  Oh yes, I remembered.



This is about 24 apples, washed and cut into quarters.  You can make applesauce with as many apples as you have, however.

Place the cut apples in a pot and add half an inch or so of water to the bottom of the pan.   Cover and cook over low heat until they are soft and mash easily.  It took my 24 apples about an hour and a half. 

Remove from the heat and either run the apples through a food mill like this (It was my grandmothers): 

Or, mash the apples through a sieve with the back of a large spoon.  Discard the skins and cores. 

At this point, you can reheat it and add some sugar, cinnamon and/or nutmeg to taste.  I like it just like it is.  Plain old apples.  My youngest, Christian, likes it so much he couldn't wait...little stinker. 

You can can this applesauce if you have a ton of apples or just freeze it.