Soft, bruised or otherwise blemished apples become applesauce in this house. When my daughter was a baby, she wouldn’t eat applesauce from a jar. My great Aunt Mary suggested I make my own. It worked! Making applesauce is not quite as easy as opening a jar--but almost. And it tastes so much better. To this day, my daughter, now a teen-ager, will eat only homemade applesauce.
When visiting Cornwall in England last year, we stayed at a cottage a short walk from the village. We’d walk past a home where the invisible resident placed bags of home-grown green apples in the window box, asking one pound per bag. We purchased a bag one day, slipping the money through the front-door mail slot, as the sign requested, and ate this applesauce with our bangers (sausages) that night.
Applesauce
1-1/2 pounds apples
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup water
1 small cinnamon stick or ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Peel and core apples. Cut into quarters. In a large saucepan, dump apples, sugar, water and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool a bit. Remove cinnamon stick. With an immersion blender, puree mixture. Makes about 2 cups.
