omg. apples.

so for laurel's birthday we went apple picking in woodstock, il. it was magical and you can see pictures here. the point is when we got home we had an incredible amount of apples. even with laurel taking home a lot we still had a ton. raul made cider and i made apple butter. and that took care of those pesky apples.

so if you have a bunch of apples just hangin' around your house causin' trouble, take care of them with these recipes!

raul's spicy cider

.5 peck of apples, it's about 16 apples, yeah, i don't know what a peck is either
3 tbs cinnamon
2 tbs nutmeg

core your apples. be careful, don't stab your hand. put them in a food processor and mash 'em up. after they're processed squeeze them through cheese cloth. this is messy. you just want the juice and not the skin. collect all the juice in a big pot and add spices. do it to taste - you can use cloves or whatever you like. cook on low until it simmers. don't boil it though. drink up. cute cinnamon stick, optional.


apple butter
just so you know, this isn't butter. sadly. it's just melted apples that give the appearance of butter. i don't like the name apple butter because it's really just apple preserves. no one calls strawberry jam strawberry butter. ugh. regardless. this stuff is good and easy to make!

.5 peck apples - you know
cinnamon, sugar to taste

core and slice apples thinly. put them in a crock pot and cook them on low until they're mush. keep checking. it smells great! once they're really mushy. stir them up. it's weird - they're melted! add spices. i say to taste because i didn't measure but just drop some in and taste it and add more. spoon into clear jars (i just an old honey bear jar. not the plastic one. this one says bron's bee co. and it cost $9, yikes!) and let them sit on the counters with the lids on but not sealed. once cooled stick them in the 'fridge. share with friends!

after these you'll be tired of apples just in time for them to go out of season!

enjoy.

love,
keighty