For the Love of Apples

Apples, fried with pancakes, minced in oatmeal muffins, sliced in pie, with cheese of course. Apples simmered into sauce and spiced for apple butter. Apples anyway and everyway. I like them as I like--nay love--my old and faithful friends.

Tonight, Michelle invited me to make caramel apples with her in the dorm. We melted caramels with a little milk and spread it on thickly before rolling the apples in popcorn. And it was very good. Apples and popcorn and caramel. Oh my.

There are so many delightful treats to be made from apples. Applesauce, for instance. Start with orchard fresh fruit with rosy cheeks like these:

Simmer in a little water until the flesh is tender and wilted.

Pull out the old fashioned fruit mill that works like a charm. Every aspiring homemaker should have one of these. Sometimes you can find them at the flea market or in main street antique shops.

Plump the apples into the mill and give the wooden pestle a few twirls.

Watch the sauce come oozing out the holes while the skins stay inside the cone. Return the sauce to the pan and simmer down with sugar to taste.

Spice things up with a dash of cinnamon and enjoy.

Applesauce!