My journey of cooking, gardening, preserving and more
Let’s talk about homemade tomato sauce. Somehow, in this world of amplified food awareness, it’s become this complicated, convoluted dish and it really doesn’t have to be. I like to make this sauce in the fall when I have an abundance of tomatoes from my garden. Actually, …
Most of my cooking is inspired by what’s fresh and available, either from my garden or at the store and this recipe is a perfect example of that. Portobello mushrooms, as popular as they’ve become, are not always readily available where I live. Often, when I …
When you have a whole bunch of apples staring you in the face, sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do with them all. This year, I decided to make a big batch of homemade apple pie filling and freeze it for the holidays. This was a perfect solution for using a good portion of them but I still had some apples leftover. What to do? My mom, of course, had the answer. Applesauce.
Here’s a shot of the beautiful apples we were given:
Now, I know you want to know what kind of apples these are, but I honestly don’t know. I can tell you that they’re really huge and a little tart and gifted to us from a friend who has a tree. That’s all I’ve got. Oh, wait…and they’re delicious.
Now, I know there are a lot of recipes out there for applesauce and almost as many ways to make it: canned applesauce, slow cooker applesauce, stovetop applesauce…but really, the fastest and easiest way to make applesauce is in your microwave. Like, literally less than 10 minutes.
This is but isn’t a recipe for microwave applesauce. Well, not an exact recipe anyway. It’s really just a general guideline..you’re going to have to play with your food and discover your perfect applesauce. Here’s a list of the ingredients you’ll need:
How are you doing so far?
Oh, sure, you can add some sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg and whatever else floats your applesauce boat but all you really need is apples.
Wash, peel, core, and dice your apples and place them in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and cook on high for 4 minutes. Stir apples, cover again and cook for 2 more minutes. Stir.
Now, the rest depends on how small you cut your apples and how strong your microwave is. It can also depend on the type of apple, simply because some have more water content and more sugar content than others.
I just continue to cook mine on high, pausing every 45-60 seconds to mash and stir. Once it begins to resemble applesauce, I (very carefully – this stuff is lava) taste test to see if any sugar, etc. is needed. If your applesauce is too chunky for your tastes, you may want to add a little water to help smooth out the consistency.
Cook until you’ve achieved applesauce…usually less than 10 minutes.
Ta da!
Nice work…you’ve achieved applesauce! (easy, quick, homemade, microwave applesauce)
You are now free to get on with the rest of your life.
Apple overload? If you live just about anywhere in the U.S. right now, you’re well aware that it’s apple season. We’ve been very blessed because, for the 2nd year in a row, a friend has gifted us with a huge bag of great, big, beautiful …
The last of my cucumber plants got pulled up last week and, though I’m sad to see summer end, I have to admit that this year’s cucumber harvest was a bit overwhelming. I added diced cucumber to salsa (delicious) and threw together quick cucumber salad …
It has been a busy summer of projects for me and this was one of my easier ones. This handmade outdoor wood bench was given to us by a friend a few years ago and because it was unfinished, it quickly started to dry out and age from being exposed to the elements.
Aside from being exposed to the rain, cold and heat, one of the biggest problems we encountered with letting this unfinished bench sit outside were the wasps eating away at it. The wasps made sitting on the bench for any length of time almost impossible and finally demanded that action be taken.
This project took about 2 weekends for me to complete, doing it in my spare time and allowing for drying time. Here are the basic steps:
Isn’t she beautiful?
My husband was thrilled to see the final results of this bench, as it was one of his friends who blessed us with it. And I’m happy to report that I can finally go outside and enjoy sitting on it with a good book and glass of wine without the wasps driving me batty. (battier?)
I hope you all have enjoyed your summer. I’m in a bit of denial that it’s almost October but at some point, I believe life has to wind down and recharge. Are you ready for it? I sure am.
I am buried in a myriad of projects right now and am rushing to complete them as the days grow shorter. I know it’s not technically autumn yet, but once Labor Day has passed us by and NFL games are officially part of my Sunday …