秋の気配が感じられる。

A few days before, the air had a tangible feeling that reminds me utterly of Memphis when first moved there. But now it has strong hints of autumn...Considering that the autumn equinox is on it's way, I suppose that's appropriate.

It's days like these that it's glorious to be outside again, whether that be outside heisting apples off of sidewalks in the neighborhood or on the banks of the Gilbert river, or walking down Holgate in the morning with Mt Hood leering off in the distance. In celebration of this unaccustomed crispness in the air, I'm making a tankard of cider.

Fall around here means back to school. Not sure what kind of school involvement I'm going to have this time around but hopefully there will be a whole lot more of it regardless. My back is not holding up well these days and I've lost my crossword buddy. These are compelling arguments for goofing around with kids instead of lifting heavy boxes...as opposed to goofing around with heavy boxes and lifting kids. ;)

As much as I like fall it is a melancholy season, although not to the extent of winter. I do have a lot on my plate at the moment and can only succeed in distracting myself from the truth but so much. So here's a big thanks to the people who have called me this week for non-vocational reasons, you guys are lifesavers.

Outside the fraxinus are taking on a golden hue and somewhere apples are hitting the pavement. I think I hear them calling my name...

Supa-Dupah Easy Applesauce Recipe
(dedicated to all "public fruit" enthusiasts)

Warning: once you make homemake applesauce you may never be able to eat the commercially processed stuff ever again. Consider yourself warned.

Ingredients:

An assortment of windfall apples (apples laying on the ground), as many as you can practically obtain (and preferably heisted from some unappreciative neighbor, neglected abandoned lot, or other semi-public location). For best results you would have at least 2 varieties (one of them red and one of them a yellowish green color), but even better results are obtained from 3 or more varieities. As in life you are seeking balance, so you want one to be mouth-puckering tart (from tannins), and one to be sweet. And don't worry if they are not the most attractive specimins, it won't affect your outcome-you're not trying to sell them on contract at Safeway.

The biggest pot in your kitchen (or borrow one from someone if yours isn't up to par...maybe this would be a good excuse to meet your neighbors), something to stir with, and if you have a potato masher you might find that handy although it's not necessary.

A bit of sugar or honey to sweeten your applesauce to your liking.
Also plan on adding a shake of cinnamon and maybe nutmeg if you like a bit spicier.

Method:

Chop, chop, chop! Don't waste your time trying to peel the apples, the skin actually enhances the taste and consistency of the finished product considerably. But you do need to cut out any questionable parts, bruised areas, in short anything that isn't gonna win a beauty pageant. Apples from the ground are usually not the prettiest things but they're more likely to be ripe enough for this little project than the ones still hanging in the tree. Don't forget to remove the cores (with the seeds) though.
Other than that, just chop them up into quarters or bite size pieces. Don't bother cutting them up too fine because they'll cook down to mush regardless of size.

Once you've got them chopped and in the pot, add a bit of water to the pot, the ammount is roughly equivalent to the ammount of apples you have in there. Clap a lid on there, and turn the stove onto a medium high setting. Once it starts boiling, turn it down to a medium setting and stir occasionally to keep the apples from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

After 15 minutes or so the apples will start getting mushy. Feel free to help them along by manually smashing them if you like, and keep stirring.

Once all the apples are completely mushy, you can taste what you've got and see if you like it the way it is, or want to sweeten it up a bit. Watch out though, those are some HOT apples. Add 1/3 of a cup of sugar a time or two until your taste buds tell you it's just right.

Now what? Well you can let it cool and eat it. Or you can put it in freezer bags and eat on it all winter long. You can can it up if you are into that sort of thing. Or invite a dozen people over and have an applesauce-themed dinner party. If you have a bunch of kids around you can see right off that this would be a great way to keep them VERY busy for an entire afternoon...