Apple Season

Growing up in Oklahoma, fall was just sort of a speed bump on the way out of summer and into winter. The leaves and grass were already dead from the summer draught, the weather was still pretty warm and it was just sort of a non-entity. It wasn't until Erik and I moved to Lawton (Oklahoma, no less) that I met someone who was in LOVE with fall and decorated accordingly. We went to her house for dinner and it was so festive and homey with fall colors everywhere that I went out the next day and bought fall decorations for my own home that I have LOVED putting out every year since (even in Hawaii!). Living up here has given me my first leaves changing, apple and pumpkin abundant, crisp air experience (I missed it last year because I spent September in Oklahoma visiting my mom). I really, really love it! So, big shout out to Devon, without whom I might have never learned to love fall and it's décor.

Last weekend while my dad was visiting, I decided I'd go buy a big bunch of apples and cook them down while I had another set of hands running around the house to tend kids (Erik was in the field). I scoured Pinterest for a recipe and I found a SUPER winner. I think it's a new fall tradition. Seriously, I even went back to buy more apples for more sauce. The vanilla bean makes it seem extra fancy, too.

Vanilla Scented Applesauce, adapted from Martha Stewart

 

Ingredients

• 14 ripe firm apples (about five pounds), such as Gala, peeled, cored, and quartered. I used mostly Empires, a local NY apple, but tossed in some Jazz and Fuji's that were hanging out in our fruit bowl.
• 1 cup apple cider, plus more as needed. Enough to cover the apples about 1/3 to halfway up
• 1/4 cup sugar, plus more as needed
• 1 large cinnamon stick. Call me a rebel, I used two. I wasn't sure how to discern the size of my cinnamon stick.    
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, plus more as needed. I used cloves - makes it way more fall-y, and because I couldn't find my nutmeg.    
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (Real Lemon did the job just fine, although I do see the irony in using a real vanilla bean and resorting to jarred lemon juice)     
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar, or more, depending on your preference.

Directions

1. Step 1

   Combine all ingredients in a wide, heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon and adding more cider as needed to prevent scorching, until apples have broken down, 50 to 60 minutes. Mash any large pieces with the spoon. Add more sugar and spices, as desired.

2. Step 2

   Remove from heat; discard cinnamon and vanilla pod. Stir in brown sugar. Yields about 1.5 pints.

I poured too much cider over the top in the beginning so I had to skim some off. I decided to make Apple Cider Donut Holes with the excess deliciously-spicy-and-vanilla-flavored cider. Another huge win. I must have been feeling energetic. I did all this with a big pot of chicken broth stewing on the stove. Hopefully I'll come into another burst of energy like this around this time next year. ;)