apple (suz)

To try my hand at canning again, I decided on a food we all love.  A mom must capitalize on a universally loved dish that pleases the whole family, is yummy with a meal, as a snack, packable for lunch, and can even augment dessert.

Nothing less than good 'ol fashion applesauce.
I bought 1/2 peck of apples (how you can resist buying something that is sold in pecks?) from the nearby apple orchard.  It is WAY cheaper to buy "drops", the apples that have already fallen from the tree, when you want to cook with them which is exactly what I was planning to do with these cuties.

The girls and I got an early start to the day and so we got right to it.  Using our "apple peeler-corer-slicer" (which does all the above) from LLBean (I think the name was changed to "Apple Thingamagiger" after the other was too big a mouthful) we got the apples ready for their steamy bath.

Apparently wearing a tiara makes for better applesauce.

Next step: boil.

Then puree and boil some more.  Get it so hot that boiling spatters of applesauce are endangering your eyeballs.

Then jar and hot water canner according to strict methods from the Ball Blue Book (see below).  You may need an Ativan or a stiff drink so that the stress of the exactness doesn't get to you.  I recommend having another adult around so keep children related distractions to a minimum.

San came up with the corny name (I love it) and the labels (I love them too.)