It's a Fall thing to do!

The time has come... 

(Some of these pictures were taken in 2007... when Webster was just a peanut!)

for apple picking... and pie making...



which, incedently, this year I have accomplished the latter without doing the former!

I had wanted to pick my own but when I went into the grocery store and found fresh regionally grown totes of apples for 85 cents a pound I decided to forego the picking myself and just buy them there. I just couldn't pass up a deal like that, I mean, the cheapest pyo orchard that I found was $1.10!

So I bought a tote of Greenling, Granny Smith and Empire to make my apple pie filling. And it's a smashing combination if I don't say so myself! I was able to make 4 quarts to freeze and also one pie to eat now.

That just happens to be a picture of the pie I made Up There ↑

And my recipe that I used is right Here ↓

Eve's Apple Pie Filling... It's so good it's *almost* sinful! ;- )

3 Totes of Apples (as mentioned above)
I know, I know... that's not a very precise measurement and I don't know how many pounds it was or cups it actually made... I had briefly considered measuring and/or weighing them but that is all that it was... a fleeting thought...  I will try to do it next time because I do plan on making and freezing more!

4 1/2 Cups White Sugar

3/4 Cup Cornstarch

1/4 Cup Flour

1 TBLS Ground Cinnamon

1 TSP Salt

1/2 TSP Gound Nutmeg

8 Cups Water

1 Cup Dried Cranberries

I like kitchen gadgets and one of my favorites is my handy dandy apple peeler that I bought at Wally World for about $10. You stick the apple on the spindle and turn the crank and off comes the peel!



I have one similiar to this already, but that one peels and slices at the same time and I like my pies to be filled with hunky chunky morsels of apple not flimsy frail slivers!

Like this...

Pretty Hunky Chunky, eh?

So after all the apples were peeled...

I slice and core them like this...

 

and place them back into the big bowl. 

Then I mix up the 3 TBLS of lemon juice with 1 cup of the water and pour it over the apples and toss them around in it to help prevent browning.

The remaining 7 cups of water goes into a large pot over medium heat... with the sugar, cornstarch, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg... stir well, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Next slowly dump the big bowl of hunky-chunky apples and lemon water in the pot and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until apples are tender, about 10 minutes or so.
Add the dried cranberries in the last couple minutes of cooking.

Let it cool down for about a half hour before ladling into your freezer containers leaving a 1/2 inch headspace, then cool at room temperature for a couple of hours. Put the lids on tight and put in the freezer and viola' your done!

Well... unless of course, you wanted to make a pie like I did because then you would need to do the pie crust thing (which I cheated and used a pre-made one) and bake it in a 375° oven for about 40-45 minutes.

But if you did decide to do that... you would have this ↓



And get to do this ↓

Open up... here comes the choo-chooooo! heh heh heh 

Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!

I am still planning on going apple picking though, as there is something about picking one right off the tree and eating it on a cool fall day that is Priceless!

Sorta like this picture... Priceless! Awww...♥ my little Boy!


And besides, there is this one apple that I Must pick as I absolutely Love to eat it and I don't find it for sale Anywhere in the stores ... and that is the Cameo apple!

Oh, through hail and fog and stormy nights (or however that little ditty goes) I would travel the world for you my Darling Cameo! ♥



That is a Cameo apple that Webster is eating... my mouth waters just looking at this picture!
But I have to wait a little bit longer as it is one of the last apples to ripen. These pictures were taken on the very last day of apple picking, October 31st!

So very soon we'll be back here ↓ 

Ü