Dehydrating

Things have been hopping around here.

Not only has school and Scouts started up,

but I'm also in the last weeks of planning the "BIG HIKE".

That means lots of food prep.

I've had the dehydrator going nonstop the last couple of days.

First it was peas

and last night I went to apples.

I used my Apple Master peeler, slicer, corer for the first time.

LOVED IT.

After I get the blueberries and apples done, 

I'll be moving to corn.

Through all this I've found that I love dehydrating food.

You wash it, maybe cut it up, maybe soak it for a couple minutes to prevent discoloring,

throw it on the tray and leave it until it's done.

Easy peasy.

Apple Harvest

This fall I decided to make applesauce.

I happened upon a recipe that gave instructions

on how to make apple jelly and applesauce all from 

cooking the same apples.  

You'll need about a heaping gallon of peeled and cored apples

(if you have a food mill you don't need to peel and core them just cut them in chunks

and put them through the mill instead of processing them)

Put chopped apples in a large saucepan and add 1 cup of water per heaping quart of apples.

Bring to a boil then cover and simmer until apples are tender

stir occasionally and smash the apples up a little to release more juice.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer the apples into another bowl.

You need to leave the juice in the pot.

You may have to pour any juice from the bowl of apples back into the pot.

Next you need to strain the juice.

I used a piece of cheesecloth stretched over a pitcher 

and secured with a rubber band (see above photo)

slowly pour the liquid from the pot through the strainer.

Any bits of apples or apple mush can be added to the bowl of cooked apples.

Measure out how much apple juice you have 

(should be about 4 cups)

Return juice to pot and add:

3 cups sugar

2 TBSP lemon juice

for every 4 cups

Bring to a boil

stir constantly until it gels up

(when it slides off a chilled spoon in one sheet)

Fill sterilized half pint jars with hot apple jelly to within 1/8" of rim

secure the lids and place in a water bath canner for 5 minutes

made about 4 half pints.

Now for the apples....

puree them in a processor

then return the applesauce to the saucepan and bring to a boil.

(add sugar or cinnamon if you want- I don't add anything).

Ladle hot applesauce into sterilized jars

leaving 1/2" headspace

place in hot water bath canner for 20 minutes (pints or quarts)

Remember to use sweet apples.

I used Golden Delicious and Mutsu (aka Crispin) apples

with some red apple varieties thrown in.

All Hallow's Eve

Tonight if you're in the process of making applesauce, maybe try out this form of divination:

Peel the Apple
Girls would peel an apple then throw the peel over their shoulder onto the floor or into a tub of water.  The letter formed by the apple peel was the first initial of the man they would marry.  I tried this once in my youth, but the dog always stole the peel before I could see the initial. I was once told by someone that if you recite the ABC's while twisting the stem on an apple, the letter you're on when the stem comes loose is the initial of the man you'll marry.

Happy Halloween!

If you want to read more about Halloween or read some ghost stories check these out:

History of Halloween

Stories From my Great-Great-Grandmother

Haunted Haven Beach

Old House Woods

Halloween Traditions

The Oldest Ghost Story

The Gettysburg Ghosts Blog

Wordless on a Thursday