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Ri here again... Yes, I did just design a blog for Mom, thanks for asking. I swear, I am gonna ban seasonal blog designs. Mom, you are stuck with this until the 4th of July.. no I don't care about Christmas designs or Spring!

Canning: Apple Pie Filling

I love keeping this apple pie filling on hand. It's just so easy to whip up a last minute dessert if you keep a stash of pie shells/dough in the freezer.

This is what we canned this year.

I also like giving this, along with a ziploc baggie of crumb topping (minus the butter of course) as a gift.

Apple Pie Filling

Peel and slice enough cooking apples to fill 7 quart jars.

I like Granny Smiths, but if you have a favorite cooking apple, feel free to try that.

Combine:

1 stick butter*

6c. sugar

1c cornstarch

1/2tsp allspice

3tsp cinnamon

8c. water

Bring to a good boil, stirring constantly. It will be very thick.

Feel free to taste and adjust the spices as you wish. I add a few dashes each of apple pie spice and ground mace.

Pack your apples in clean, hot quart jars. Fill well, but only pack them to the neck of the jar. I prefer to use the wide mouth jars for this because it's easier to get a small spatula in there to remove the air bubbles. Pour syrup over apples, making sure it's gets all the way to the bottom (I actually start with a little of the syrup in the bottom - it just makes it easier). Remove air pockets as you go. Leave 1/2" headspace, wipe rims, fit on lids and rings, and process for 20 min. in a water bath canner after the water reaches a full, rolling boil.

A couple of things to keep in mind.

1) These are not complete canning instructions, so if you're new to it, check out basic steps before attempting this recipe.

2) I know - the syrup will boil out from under the lids after you pull them out of the canner and you'll have a mess on the towel and counter. Do not try to use less syrup the next time in order to keep this from happening. The 1/2" of headspace is very important for developing a good seal. If you fill the jars with less, they will not seal properly and you'll be left with a bunch of pie filling that will need to be re-processed. You may not figure out the seal is bad until a jar or two pops its seal later on in the cabinet. Yes - I know this from experience so trust me, fill to that 1/2" headspace. You can clean the outside of the jars, and anything they came in contact with the next day, once the jars have cooled down.

1 quart jar will make a standard pie. It will seem a little skimpy for a deep dish pie shell, but you can fill in a bit with some extra crumb topping if that's the only size pie shell you have on hand.

*Please read the comments, as I received a very good question with regard to the butter in this recipe.

Canning: Strawberry Applesauce - A++

I saw a recipe for this in one of my canning books this year and just had to give it a try. Several of the kids made a few disparaging noises at the thought of strawberries mixed in their applesauce, so I decided to make a small batch of it out of whatever we had left when the rest of the apple stuff was finished. Boy - do I wish I had tried it out right at the beginning. Even the first round of tasting, while it was still warm, was recieved with very little enthusiasm, but all that changed once a jar (the last one - not quite full enough to process) had been refigerated. The final verdict? Massive success!! It is absolutely scrumptious.

And quite pretty too - don't you think?

I couldn't resist using these cute little jars I found on one of my rare trips through a Walmart.

Is it bad that I can't go through a store that carries canning equipment without checking out what they have in stock? I was only at Walmart because I was out of coconut oil and none of the grocery stores near me carries it. I didn't even need to be on that side of the store. My buggy just went that way and I followed.

Oh well - this applesauce certainly won't curb any addiction to canning that I may be developing.

On to the recipe!!

First I will give you the recipe as I found it in my book. Then I'll tell you what I did, because you know I changed it.

Strawberry Applesauce 

7 lbs tart cooking apples

1 lb strawberries

2 c. water

1/4 c. lemon juice

3/4 - 1 &1/4 c. sugar

Combine everything except sugar in pot and cook until apples are tender. Process fruit through a food mill or blender, return to pot, add sugar to taste, and water if necessary to reach a desired consistency. Bring to a boil and proceed to can. Leave 1/2" headspace and once your canner reaches a boil, process pints for 15 min. and quarts for 20 min. Makes about 6 pints.

There's the original recipe. Here's what I did.

My Strawberry Applesauce

8 lbs. apples (this was 8lbs after peeling and coring)

1 & 1/2 lbs frozen strawberries

sugar

water

I did use tart apples, Granny Smiths in particular, but that was only because that's all we had left after everything else was canned. Personally, I don't know why anyone would use tart apples for applesauce, only to have to add sugar to sweeten it up - it makes no sense. Plus, the tart apples don't usually cook down quite as well.  They hold their shape, which is why they are called cooking apples, and are generally used for pies. You know, so your pie doesn't end up with a bunch of apple mush as it's filling. My sauce is delicious, but it doesn't have quite as smooth a consistancy as I usually like my sauce to have, even though I ended up running it through a blender. I'll use sweet apples next time.

Next, I did not add 2c. of water during the cooking. Expierence has taught me that you only add enough water to cover the bottom of the pot at no more than 1/2" before you start adding the apples. You just need it to get some steam going to start cooking the apples without scorching the ones that touch the pan. They will start to release their juice as they cook and you may well end up with very runny sauce if you start with a bunch of water in your pot. You can always add it if needed, but you can't take it out, and cooking it down without burning it is a tedious process, best avoided if possible.

I also didn't add any additional lemon juice. I don't know why you'd need it. I've seen numerous recipes for applesauce, and none of them require lemon juice (this was the only one I've ever seen, and the strawberry was just a variation allowed in the recipe). I know some jellies/jams do in order to bring up the acid level for safe canning/storage, but strawberry is not one of them. Plus, I keep my cut apples in cool water with lemon juice added in order to keep them from turning brown while I get the rest cut, and I sprinkle them with a little Fruit Fresh, or Mrs. Wages fresh fruit preserve as I place them in the pan (also to keep from browning), so I don't imagine I'd need any additional acid even if that were the reason. Finally, more lemon juice would just have required more sugar to offset the tartness, so I left it out.

Since these were Granny Smiths, I cooked the apples by themselves for a bit before I added the strawberries. I knew it wouldn't take long for the strawberries to turn to mush, but the apples would take much longer. If I were using softer, sweet apples I may put them in at the beginning, or shortly thereafter, but I waited to add them this time until the Grannies were starting to get soft. As I expected, they never softened as much as the other apples do, so I got them as soft as I could and then added the strawberries, running it all through a blender once the strawberries were mushy. I did have to add a bit of water to a few of the batches in the blender, but I didn't really need to add much because the frozen strawberries released quite a bit of moisture as they cooked. When it was all blended I put it back in the pot and started tasting and adding sugar until I thought it was sweet enough. I think I ended up adding about 1 &1/2c of sugar, but I will add, while it's warm you taste the tartness more than you will once it's cold. And if you use sweet apples you won't have to add as much, and maybe not any additional sugar.

Though I used pint jars, I processed them for 20 min. out of habit. I don't usually can applesauce in pint jars so I'm used to the 20 min. for the quarts. I got 9 pt. plus one pint jar that was about 3/4 full.

You should really try this out. It is wonderful.

*Update - I do think I'll put the lemon juice in this time.  The taste was fine through storage, but it did darken after a couple of months and I want to see if the lemon juice will help it keep its color.  

I've linked this post with the Carnival of Home Preserving.

Crockpot Cooking: Camp Stew

I got this recipe from a salesman who frequents history reenactments, and while the smell of a real wood fire and dishing a bit of this up out of a cast iron cooking pot do add to it's appeal, it still tastes quite good when cooked on your stove, or in your crock pot. I'll give you the quatities for a regular sized batch.

Camp Stew

1 smoked sausage or kielbasa                4-5 potatoes

2 carrots                                                 1 small onion

1 can diced tomatoes                             2 ears of corn (or 1c. frozen)

1/2 head of cabbage                              Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning

cornstarch (optional)

Clean and chop your onions, carrots and potatoes. I only peel the potatoes if they are russets.

Cut corn from the cob. I cut my sausage in half rounds to make it easier to eat, but that's optional.

Place all of this, along with the tomatoes and 2tsp. seasoning in your crock pot and cover with water.

Cook all day.

If you're doing this on the stove it will cook in about 30-40min - just 'til the carrots and potatoes are tender.

A few minutes before serving, turn off the heat, chop your cabbage and add to the pot, stirring to mix it in.

As you can see, I had to transfer mine to a large stock pot because of the quantity I was making, but if you're making a standard sized recipe this can all be done in the crock pot. Taste, and add more seasoning if necessary.

That's all there is too it - or to the original recipe anyway.

We prefer to thicken it with some cornstarch, but that is entirely up to you. If you do, mix your cornstarch  with a little cold water and stir it into the stew before turning off the heat. Allow it to heat through for a few minutes, then turn it off and add the cabbage.

This is currently the only way I eat cooked cabbage because, in reality, the cabbage isn't cooked, it's just kind of heated up. That way you don't have slimy, yucky cabbage in your soup.

Back to the Mountains

In a rare moment of spontaneity, we decided to drop everything after Beenie's guitar lesson yesterday and go to the mountains. Actually, I have to admit here that it's only rare because, though hubby loves to do things at the spur of the moment, I greatly dislike having my plans for the day disrupted. But I relented and we had a fabulous day. When we went apple picking we went north-west, a bit over the Virginia State line, staying just this side of the Blue Ridge Parkway. This time we headed south-east, going past the Parkway.

Being your "typical" homeschool family, we chose to turn this into a field trip and visited a very old mercantile. Mast General Store now has several locations in NC and surrounding states, but we visited the orginal store, located in Valle Crucis, that opened in 1883.

It still holds a small, operating post office for the tiny community.

If you click on the picture, you may be able to read the sign (to the right of the window) warning patrons of the store that the post office is still operational, so they should not try to open the postal boxes.

Aren't these the coolest, old organizing bins.

They still use them to keep their selection of carriage bolts and other, small hardware.

The store also comes complete with it's own pet, who apparently thinks the counter is a perfect place to sleep. What is it about cats wanting to sleep right where you need to work?

You get a clear picture of the fact that they don't take to kindly to salesmen.

This is part of the view behind the store.

I hope if you click on the picture you can see that a house sits on the very top of the mountain.

There is already more color in the trees here than down where we live, but they're still a week or two off from peak color. We did see a few isolated areas where the trees were in full color, but none where we could stop and get a good picture. Hubby has said that we may take a picnic and go up on the Parkway once the trees have reached full color. I kind of hope we do. It's so beautiful.

Isn't it beautiful, even when the colors aren't quite at they're best?

And barns are everywhere. I love big red barns.

All decked out for fall.

After we left the mercantile, we headed back to Boone in order to eat supper at the Dan'l Boone Inn and Restaurant. It's an adorable old farm house, turned inn and eatery. They serve things family style, meaning there's a fixed menu and they just bring you some of everything in bowls to pass around the table, just like you would do at home. There are precious few of these type restaurants around here anymore.

 

The place is just too cute, and I couldn't go home without a jar of the black cherry preserves they serve with the biscuts.

They used to have a live tree in one of the dining rooms. They had just built right around it when they added on. But after many years it finally died and they had it taken out. We got to sit at a huge round table with a lazy susan built in the center that had been placed where the tree once grew.

That lazy susan made eating so enjoyable. No-one had to interrupt anyone else's meal to ask for dishes to be passed. Maybe we should look into getting one for our house.

I have to admit that all the moss on the roof of this little store front is what grabbed my attention. I didn't even notice the sign until the photos were uploaded on the computer. Interesting name isn't it? Kind of makes me want to stop and check it out next time.

If we do indeed head out for a picnic on the Blue Ridge Parkway during peak color, I'll be sure to supply you all with plenty of pictures of those gorgeous mountains.