Applesauce

Rain Makes Applesauce was one of my favorite books when I was little. I remember that one and Drummer Hoff.

But the truth is, I make applesauce when it is raining.

Two years ago, during my first year in Boone, two friends and I spent a Saturday making applesauce. We went to the little farmer's market and bought a bushel of apples. The farmers brought these just for applesauce making, because they were the more bruised and ugly looking apples. The entire bushel was $5, so we couldn't pass it up.

We put in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and got to work peeling and chopping apples. We boiled them. The first batched we boiled in water, a little lemon juice, and cinnamon. The second batch we boiled in cranberry juice -- which produced pink applesauce.

Becky had a food mill, so once they were soft, we just tossed them in there and ground away.

I put my portion in gallon freezer bags, and was dumb enough to let the bag slide through the slats on the freezer rack while it was freezing. Yes, it caused a mess later when I wanted to eat the applesauce.

I had an applesauce party for one last week. 6 lbs of apples for $3 at the farmer's market. I turned on Hulu, and peeled, cored, and chopped up my apples. Then I boiled them in water and a tablespoon of lemon juice. I don't have a food mill, so I pureed the soft apples in my blender.