Applesauce

This is my first Blog, so bear with me as I get accustomed to this form of writing. David has been blogging for years and you can tell by the way he so easily finds that blog tone and runs with it.

I wanted to write about applesauce but the more I thought about it I realized that what I was really going to say had a lot more to do with the joys of cooking and canning in general. I'll start out with the applesauce and tell you what I mean along the way.

So, we have an orchard, a bit old and in need of care, but nevertheless we have this amazing apple tree, Alexandre is the variety, and it produced a record number of apples this year. As I do every year, I set about collecting the apples and preparing to start the peeling, chopping and cooking of the apples. My husband carried this huge box of apples over from the orchard and I set things up on the terrace outside the kitchen door to get to work. Then one of my sons, Phillip, came along and sat down, asking if I wanted a little help as the quantity of apples gave the impression I might be there for several hours! So we set to work; I peeled and he chopped and to our amazement Johan my husband came out with another chopping board and knife and joined us!

We passed an hour this way, chatting while we worked, filling two of my huge pots with chopped apples, which of course resulted in two huge pots of applesauce. I will post my various recipes on our web site, or rather David will since I am such an incompetent computer person.

Anyway, at one point a friend of ours came over to say hello and found us out on the terrace. He was amazed to see this little apple party; how many of us are lucky enough to have an 18 year old son and a husband who would happily take up this kind of work?

It all made me realize that cooking and canning are really great vehicles for social interaction. It doesn't have to be some solitary activity the canner does alone and slaves away for hours preparing all those apples.

OK, so I'm the one who actually stirs the pot and eventually puts the applesauce in the jars, but once again, when it comes time to load up the canner, Phillip is right there to help me lift all the jars.

We have a cellar full of three different applesauces this year which we will slowly enjoy during the winter months for easy desserts, warm or just straight out of the jar. Perfect comfort food!