One Bad Apple

 So much rain lately. Of course, the weather was excellent while I was forced to lay in my bed with only the view of the mountain top out my window. Since I have been able to navigate it has rained every single day. I went out while it was just a drizzle and picked my sweet peas and pulled a handful of weeds out of my raised beds. 

You all may be wondering about the state of the gout patient. He does NOT have gout. He recovered way too fast and was driving after just one day. Now that I have had a gout attack, I can assure you that he would not have been so nimble after just one day! He has arthritis. I wouldn't go so far as to say he is a hypochondriac, but he does love attention.

I complained about bread yesterday; the subject today is apples. When you buy bread, you know what you are getting. Not true when you buy fresh produce. You can inspect fruits and vegetables to make sure there are no bad spots, but there is nothing that will guarantee flavor. I miss having my own source of fresh fruit in my yard. 

I purchased a bag of honey crisp apples from Walmart. I love a good crisp apple with a burst of tart and sweet flavor. Not easy to eat without my bottom molars, but I was so looking forward to an apple. I bit into it, with 3 sets of canine eyes imploring me to hurry and give them a taste. It was crisp and .... tasteless. Even Bo spit his out and he will eat anything. Dora stuck her turtle snout in the air and looked at me disgustedly.  

What does one do with a 3lb bag of tasteless apples? Well, you can't make lemonade! But you can make applesauce. Back when I had an abundance of apples to deal with, I made many batches of applesauce and apple butter and apple pie filling. I discovered for the sauce and butter; the best flavor was attained when you cooked the entire apple.

Just wash them and I cut them in half. I don't peel them or even seed them. I just toss them in the crockpot and turn it on low. No water, you don't want to dilute the flavor. You get the pectin from the peel that helps hold everything together. I leave them on for about 6 hours, then get out my hand crank food mill and run it all through. It takes away the peel and seeds and all you have left is good thick pulp. Back into the crockpot with a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon and let it cook on low for 3 more hours. It is good, the taste I took after adding the sugar and cinnamon. It will be even better after it cooks.

Then you take all the peel and seeds out to the compost bin. No waste. Yes, I often pat myself on the back. Hey, I deserve it!

I discovered more apples in the veggie bin in the fridge. They were all wrinkly and drying out. I do recall that they tasted good. I thought about dehydrating them, but I seeded them, there were only 4 and quartered them and tossed them in the food processor. Whatever could I have in mind? I grabbed a couple of carrots and cut those up and added them to the apples. I set it on puree. Dumped it into a mixing bowl and added a jar of peanut butter and 3 cups of oats. Tasted pretty good and I knew my canine babies would appreciate my efforts. I rolled it into walnut size balls on a cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. I will pull them out and put them in a Ziplock bag. There are enough treats for 6 weeks. I don't have to worry about what might be used as an additive and be harmful to my babies and they love them. Sometimes I used sweet potatoes and pumpkin with the oats and peanut butter. I bet horses would like my homemade treats as well. He won't let me have a miniature donkey, though. I would really like one.