Mmmmm.....Apple Time!!

Autumn officially arrived this morning at 11:44am, but for me it really began this past weekend with our annual trek to the apple orchard!! We headed to Behling's in Mexico, NY on Saturday morning, and picked 49 pounds of big, juicy Jonamac apples. Quite a few of the area's orchards were damaged a few months ago by hail and high winds...but not this one. The apples absolutely dripped from the branches, and we were early enough that the picking was easy...low to the ground!! A good thing for those of us who are a little challenged in the height department!

For the past several years I've canned several jars of applesauce to put by for the winter. It is delicious and easy...and I really do like to can. I think there is some primitive area of my brain that, beginning with the first cool breezes of fall, drives me to bake and store food...not unlike the many squirrels that keep digging up my tulip bulbs and burying them in other, more convenient spots... though I'd like to think that I'm slightly more evolved.

This year I added Apple Pie Filling to the shelves, canning 7 quarts on Saturday evening.One of the jars didn't seal, so on Sunday...along with making the applesauce...I baked this pie to taste-test the new recipe (note the pie bird!). It is really very good! It received two thumbs up from everyone.

Here's the recipe:

4 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons salt

10 cups water

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 drops yellow food coloring

8 pounds apples

1. In a large pan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice and food coloring.

2. Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water.

3. Peel, core, and slice apples. Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.

4. Fill jars with hot syrup, and gently remove air bubbles with a knife.

5. Put lids on and process in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.

A Common Household Irritation.... :0

Here is a picture of what, I believe, is an incredibly irritating phenomenon that plagues untold numbers of households in the world today.

Ever since Zeth Wheeler introduced the world to perforated rolls of tissue paper in the late 19th century there has been an apparent breakdown of human hand-eye coordination upon entering the bathroom, powder room, loo, john, or whatever other name this area generally falls under. Their motor capabilities diminish to the point that they cannot replace the toilet tissue onto the holder, but can only manage to rest it on top of the old, empty tube.

After a lengthy investigation into this problem, I have discovered that it seems to be an affliction that disables all but one member of the household...usually a woman...who then must resign themselves to a lifetime of removing spent cardboard tubes and replacing them with fresh ones.

After interviewing each member of the household, I discovered that whatever it was that damaged the brain's ability to co-ordinate the removal and reinstallment of the toilet paper had also affected their recall of past events, as each and every one stated emphatically that, "Yes, I put new rolls on all the time! It's not me! It must be...(insert sibling's name, or 'Dad')."

Further investigation reveals that the problem is not corrected by the unaffected person's refusal to replace the rolls. It would seem, in fact, that this will continue to be a problem for generations to come...or at least in this household!!

The Sunflowers are Still Shining!

Hard to believe, but I started my fall clean-up in the yard today. We have one tree just outside the back door that always drops its leaves before any of the others, but some years that doesn't start until late September. This year I started sweeping up the orange and red leaves in the middle of August! Is this the sign of an unseasonably cool Autumn?