Apples

Thursday was apple day at our house. The process was a sticky, messy one -- but actually much easier than I anticipated. I really enjoy canning and I get a certain satisfaction from feeding my children food out of Mason jars (the same kind of "good mom" satisfaction I get when I feed them oatmeal for breakfast, sandwiches on homemade bread and squash with their dinner -- is that a little messed up?). I'm just so sold on the benefits of whole foods without all the additives, and I love the principle of working hard for what you get that it teaches (i.e., The Little Red Hen). Sure makes me appreciate a bowl of applesauce a lot more, and Eleanore too since she helped this time.

My friend Melissa came and learned the process and Catherine was there to help us get going in the morning (Catherine is so awesome...she came and helped and didn't even want any applesauce for her family).

All said, we ended up with 35 quarts (and 1 pint) of applesauce, 21 quarts of apple slices, 7 pints of apple butter, 7 pints of apple-cinnamon syrup, one big bag of dehydrated apples and warm apple crisp. This is definitely a staple we'll be adding to our yearly food storage regimen.