Yesterday, while I was dreading this family gathering, I tried to make applesauce for the first time -- the kind that you are able to preserve.
I followed the recipe on the first batch and used water. Maybe I used too much water? Maybe the apples had extra juice? I could have boiled the pot for several hours and not evaporated the extra liquid in there. I was bummed. Bad recipe!
Later, I made another batch without water. I just put the lid on the pot of apples and put the burner on low so that the apples could slowly create their own juice. When enough liquid was at the bottom of the pot, I turned the heat up. Perfect sauce. Now I know how to make great applesauce!
But I still have seven quarts -- 7 -- of bad, runny applesauce. It's almost like juice. I wondered if it would thicken after it was processed and cooled, like jam does, but this batch actually got more runny in the end. So many great apples! What to do?
Tonight I roasted two butternut squashes, sauteed some onions with curry-ish herbs, and added them together with a box of chicken stock and a full quart of the runny applesauce. The BEST squash soup I've ever made! Yay! Thank you, worthless, runny applesauce! Two stars for Cathy!
Meanwhile, I have realized that, if you keep green tomatoes hanging around long enough, some of them give up and decide to ripen. I still have ten pounds of very hard and very green tomatoes, but some of the rest are trying to become juicy and red.
This is an incredible process to witness and participate in. Laugh however much you want. For me, the bowl of green tomatoes is an oracle of some kind.
oh what a wonderful oracle! Thanks for your great comments over at my place....
Posted by: Cynthia | November 04, 2008 at 10:43 AM