Move Over, Pioneer Woman

Or maybe not just yet.

Tall Kid called one afternoon and asked, “Mom, are Jonathan apples any good?” I, of course, replied that they are a wonderful all-around apple and happen to be my favorite. He then informed me that he’d been given nearly all the apples on a tree and would I like them. He and his wife, he assured me, would love to come help me make apple butter and applesauce, and I could teach them to can. So, like any good mother, I said, “Yes,” and that’s how I wound up with a thirty gallon Rubbermaid tub full of apples.

Time got away from everyone, and soon those apples were rotting. <sigh> Time to take care of them. I sorted the apples that would submit to the apple peeler/corer/slicer from the ones that wouldn’t. Then I got busy washing…

 

                                                         Quartering…

                                                                                                                And cooking the apples.

  

 Then I put them through a nifty device called the Squeezo strainer. (Perhaps you can forgive the name when I tell you it was first manufactured in 1919 and by 1930 was an indispensable kitchen appliance. I inherited mine from my mother-in-law.) This appliance has to be attached to a table with a clamp-like screw. Since my dining room table is unsuitable, I used our picnic table outside.

When I took out the first batch, three yellow jackets eagerly awaited my arrival. (Not sure how they knew I’d be coming, but.. <shrug>) By the time I returned with the second batch, they’d invited their friends. About fifty of them. Swarming around my head as I worked.

The Lord and I had been chatting off and on all day, but I deemed this an appropriate time to catch Him up on what was going on in my world.

After finishing the outside part of my chore without incident, I strained the pulp for apple cider, and used the remainder for fruit leather…

And apple butter.

The fruit leather didn’t work out very well. It tasted perfect, but I couldn’t get it to peel off the dehydrator sheet. (Note to self – Next time, pour a thicker layer of pulp.)

With the rest of the apples, I cored and sliced some for drying…

And some for applesauce.

Needless to say, my family has been enjoying numerous meals featuring apples. I am grateful to God and to my son for the bountiful harvest, but I think I’ve had enough for now.