Canning Applesauce from the Last of the Apple Harvest

The last dozen or so apples from my Fuji apple tree found their way into some yummy applesauce today. I sort of ad-libbed the recipe this time, but the result was great.

Last night I washed, cored and quartered 12 to 14 apples and put them in my 6-quart crockpot with 1 cup of apple juice, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and 1 heaping teaspoon of cinnamon. I set it on Low and let it cook, covered, for 12 hours. This morning I turned off the heat and ran the cooked apple mixture through a food mill to remove the peels. (Don't peel the apples in advance--there's pectin in the peels that helps to thicken and flavor the applesauce.) The apple mixture was a little watery at that point so I put the apple mixture back in the crockpot, set it on High, and let it cook uncovered for another hour or so to thicken up. From this, I was able to get three and a half pints of canned applesauce.

I can't wait to try this applesauce alongside a pork chop or mixed into oatmeal. For just a couple hours of hands-on work, it will totally be worth it!

Fuji Apple Butter Crockpot Recipe

This is the first year that my Fuji apple tree has had a significant harvest, especially considering that the young tree is still not quite 6 feet tall. When I had picked over three dozen apples (and still left some small ones to develop more on the tree) I decided to do some canning and began looking for some good recipes. I decided to make apple butter, because it's tasty, fat-free, and easy--only six ingredients and it can be prepared in a crockpot. This recipe is adapted from the Rival Crock-Pot Cooking book that came with my crockpot many years ago. The only thing I changed was the variety of apple used.

Old-Fashioned Apple Butter

12 - 14 apples (the book suggested Jonathan or Winesap; I used Fuji)
2 cups apple juice (I used apple cider)
Sugar
Cinnamon (ground)
Allspice 
Cloves (ground)
(The book also listed an optional ingredient--1/2 cup sauterne--which I didn't use)

In addition, you will need a large crockpot and a food mill.

I used 14 Fuji apples of varying sizes. I washed, cored, and quartered them and put them in the crockpot, which I sprayed with a light coating of oil, along with 2 cups apple cider. I covered them and cooked on Low for 10 to 18 hours. (I cooked it overnight, 18 hours).

The next morning I ran the cooked apples through a food mill to remove the peels. (You don't want to remove the peel before cooking because there is a good amount of pectin in the peel that helps thicken the apple butter.) Measure the apple mixture and return it to the crockpot. I had 10 cups of cooked apples at this point. For every 2 cups of sieved, cooked apples, add 1 cup of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon of cloves. So, for my 10 cups of apples, I added 5 cups of sugar, 5 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 2 1/2 teaspoons each of allspice and cloves.

Stir well, cover, and cook on High for 6 to 8 hours, stirring every couple of hours. After the first 3 hours of cooking, remove the cover so the juice will evaporate more and the fruit will cook down. The mixture will become dark brown and very thick. Spoon it into hot, sterilized jars and process using standard canning methods. I used a hot water bath to process, following the instructions here.

My yield from this batch was 8 half-pints.

I still have a couple dozen more apples sitting on my counter--I think I may have to dig up some more apple recipes!

Welcome, Autumn!

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” 

― Albert Camus

Photo: MorgueFile.com

Have You Killed Your Lawn Yet?

As the drought drags on, are you finding that your brown-ish lawn is getting you down? Or are you (no judgment--well, OK, a little judgment) using enough water to slake the thirst of a small village to keep it nice and green? Maybe it's time to get rid of that big green water-hog and go lawn-less.

The folks that organize the Bringing Back the Natives Tour each year are ready to help you out with their "Mow No Mo'!" (or "How to Remove Your Lawn) workshops. These hands-on workshops will show you how to sheet-mulch your lawn into oblivion, leaving you with a clean canvas for planting a native and drought-tolerant garden. They'll also provide information on how you can get a rebate from your local water district for losing your lawn. The workshops take place on September 6 (Livermore), September 20 (Walnut Creek), and October 5 (Lafayette), from 10:00 to 3:00. You must register in advance; the cost is $30.



If you can't get to the workshops or you just want some great ideas for what to plant instead of lawn, check out Beautiful No-Mow Yards: 50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives by Evelyn Hadden or Lawn Gone!: Low-Maintenance, Sustainable, Attractive Alternatives for Your Yard by Pam Penick. Both books have lots of suggestions for appealing lawn replacements.

Think You Know Where You Stand on GMOs? Read This and Think Again.

Photo credit: Rosalee Yagihara

Just as with the issue of climate change, the subject of GMOs tends to be somewhat polarizing and there is a point where people stop looking at the facts (or never look at them to begin with) and just determine where they stand on the issue based on how much they like or dislike the messenger. I know many people who I like and respect who are are passionately anti-GMO but, in truth, a number of them don't seem to understand the issue with any depth or breadth. I certainly don't claim to have any expertise in this area--I don't have a science background and it's not easy for me to sift through some of the denser writing I've picked up on the subject.

But I became aware a few years ago when I attended the National Heirloom Exposition* that there are some speakers and writers who are putting out so-called "facts" about the dangers of GMOs that I know to be overstated, if not outright untruths. In the current issue of The New Yorker, Michael Specter takes on Vandana Shiva, an internationally followed anti-GMO activist who has been a featured speaker at the Heirloom Expo in the past. If you are concerned about GMOs and actually care about the science and how GMOs are being portrayed, both for and against, you owe it to yourself to read this article. By the end of the article I was truly outraged by the way this particular war is being waged and the number of people who have already starved to death or suffered malnutrition while the PR campaigns distort the facts. Please read the article and tell me if you're outraged too.

* I don't mean to impugn the National Heirloom Exposition or the majority of its speakers, many of which are honest, experienced and very well qualified to speak and write in their fields. On the other hand, the featured speaker for this year's Expo is Dr. Joseph Mercola, who has an entire page devoted to him at Quackwatch.org.

Choderwood: A Garden on the Allegheny

Here's a short video of one of my favorite gardens from my recent trip to Pittsburgh. Choderwood is a restored lockmaster's house on the Allegheny River that the owners have turned into a bed-and-breakfast and event venue. The gardens are lush, fun, quirky, relaxed, and inspiring. Enjoy the view!

Welcome to Randyland!

I'm back from attending the annual Garden Writers Association Symposium. This year the symposium was in Pittsburgh, PA and I never imagined that Pittsburgh would turn out to be such a fun, cool place. (Cool, that is, if you don't count the heat and humidity.) I always learn a lot at these GWA get-togethers and I also get the opportunity to tour some impressive gardens. I'll be posting more photos of garden scenes I particularly liked, but I thought today I'd post a little video of one my favorite Pittsburgh gardens--the wild and funky spot called Randyland! Enjoy! (Click the icon in the bottom-right corner to view the video in full screen.)