I did a thing in the kitchen

Well, it started out in the forest of course. I visited one of my favorite wild apple trees and picked half a 5 gallon bucket full of apples.

Most of the apples were really good and a few were nasty
with bugs or wormies.
These are the ones that didn't make it to
my chopping board.

Because the color wasn't pretty, I ran out 
to the wild grape vine by the busted garage
and picked several handfuls of grapes.

I strain apples the old fashioned way with a cloth and a strainer.
I understand that using a steam juicer is

faster, but this was how I learned to do it.

So I stick with this method.

Viola! Pretty pink apple juice.

Yes!
I can use the stove! 

One thing I love to do is make jelly. I love beautiful colorful and clear jelly. I probably will only make this one batch as I am the only one who really eats it on my toast and PB&J. 

The jar with the handle was the leftover. 
That will go in the fridge right away.

Hubby made a request for Apple Butter which I will do also. I usually make one or two batches of applesauce a year as we eat that as a desert or as a side with pork chops.

Next week, I'll be preserving our veggies for the winter. I'll get a few bunches of carrots to freeze along with some other fresh veggies. 

I've been gathering seeds for next year's flower garden and an exchange with other neighbors. 

I'm eyeing the wild grape vines. They really produced this year....

I wonder....

Oh and tomorrow? I am looking forward to another 'Thing'.

It thankfully does not involve a kitchen!

Apples. Simply delicious!

A friend of mine visited this weekend and they enjoyed some of our apple jelly and applesauce.

I explained to him that I'd picked apples and made apple juice and canned it. I also use the juice to make jelly. The pulp gets run through a mill and I use that to make applesauce.

He asked me to send him a recipe. So here is my method that is really quite simple.

Picking the apples.
I know~basic~ but I took some photos while up in the tree. I enjoyed the view in the tree!

The only thing I will do different next time is get a bag to sling over my shoulder so I won't have to climb up and down the ladder as much.

I wash the apples then cut them in half and dump them in a large pan. I add a little bit of water to the pan. It is an experiment. Sources on the 'internet' say to cover the apples. I find that makes the juice a bit watery. I found a happy medium of just adding enough water to get the apples to steam up.

I take an apple smusher aka a potato masher and mash the apples. I let them simmer on low for about 15 minutes.

I ladle the mushy stuff into a strainer and let it drain. I don't push on the mush too hard as I want some nice clear juice. Another method is to use is straining it through some material. I like to use an old cotton pillow case cut up. It gives the clearest juice.

Once you have your juice you can decide if you want to make jelly or simply can the juice. I use Sure-Jell to make the jelly. If I feel like making jelly this winter, I simply can the juice in a hot water bath for the recommended time.
I just canned a gallon of apple juice so I will have plenty to either drink or use to make jelly.

I believe the Sure-Jell recipe calls for 7 cups of apple juice.

I decided to run the leftover pulp through my food mill. It did a nice job of getting rid of the seeds and skins.

Since I had a ton of other things to do during this day, I added the pulp to my crockpot, added some sugar and some cinnamon to taste and set the crockpot on low.

That evening the applesauce was hot enough and had cooked enough to can.

From the tree to the shelf in about one day.

Oh and let's not forget that apples do very well in the dehydrator!