Applesauce

There is such a kinship between children and apples...both are possessed of that roundish quality...rosy cheeked bairns with upturned and newly scrubbed faces call to mind apples in September...smiling from their branches, shoulders beginning to blush pink.

Apples tuck so nicely into backpacks and baskets, apron pocket's, and fists. There is such a solid feeling of contentment when your palm meets the full curve of an apple...not to mention the sound of that first crunch into crispness...

A half bushel bag full of Paula Reds sat in our entry way for a few days...and every time we'd walk out or in visions of apple pies and apple cider and apple crisps would dance in our heads...

Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled the sack inside and the girls and I made a royal mess in the kitchen peeling every last one and boiling it down for applesauce. They seem to take especial charge of processing an apple harvest...be it for cider, sauce, or baked good...

The perfect ratio of water to apple for sauce is 1 Cup water to every 4 apples. Simply cook down till the apples are soft...add whatever sugar you so desire....and for a smoother finish blend it in a blender before filling your quart jars and boiling in hot water for 20 minutes.

I'm sure I need not remind you to lick the spoon!!

"Surely the apple is the noblest of fruits"

-Henry David Thoreau-