Homemade applesauce

Applesauce is so easy to make, and yet I always somehow buy it in jars at the store. Kinda dumb, since I use a lot of it in baked goods and I eat it often before or after working out, or simply as dessert. I figured it would be a good idea to start making my own, especially since apples are still cheap! I don't know why I haven't done that sooner. Laziness I guess...
Anyway, so I got a 5 lbs bag of Cortlands for very cheap, and as much as I love biting into an apple and just eat it raw, 5 lbs is a lot for a single person. Originally I wanted to make muffins but realized I was out of baking powder and didn't have time to get to the store. So I opted for this. I'm glad I did. AND...I still have a lot of apples so I'll make muffins on sunday.
Here's what you'll need for about 2 cups of applesauce:

5-6 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
2 TBSP water
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Put all the ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer on medium heat until the apples are soft.
Turn the heat off and let cool a bit.

Before:


After:


Mash with a potato masher, or blend with a hand blender if you like it smooth.
(I chose to mash it so that it's still a little chunky)



So simple...

Plum Chutney/Jam

I have to admit right away I had NO idea whatsoever what I was doing when I made this. It's simply a bunch of fruit, either too ripe to eat or too sour for my personal taste, thrown together in a pot with some sugar and a bit of liquid, simmerred until it was all cooked and reduced by about 1/3...I thought it was gonna be more like a chunky jam, but it turned out more like chutney. Either way it's amazing on toast, or meat. So it's both!

I used black plums, the mini ones. They were a little too sour for me, even after sitting on the counter for one week. I just chopped them up in quaters, without peeleing because the peel here gets really soft. I think I had about 2 cups of those. Also in there I threw in some ground cherries. Unusual I know but they were also dying in their little basket so in the pot they went. I cut the bigger ones in half and left some whole. Total amount here is unknown...I'm guessing about 1/2-3/4 cups..?(I'm really bad with mesuring when I cook!) Finally I tied it all with an apple, peeled and chopped finely.
In a pot with about 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup apple juice, I let it simmer and stirred occasionnaly for about 30 minutes, or maybe 45...added some golden raisins about half-way(i believe it was about 1/2 cup...), 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, a bit of cloves, pinch of salt and a squeeze of honey. Here it's up to you to add more sugar, depending on how tart you like things...
When it got to a nice thick consisitency I turned off the heat and let it cool.



Now I have to apologize for the lack of pictures...it was a little tricky to get the right color to come out...this is the only one I was able to get that actually looks like it really is! Dark and chunky and really delicious. Alos I didn't know how it would turn out so I didn't really "document" anything during the process...sorry...next time...

I can't wait to experiment and make other sorta chutneys and jams with different fruits!

Red Pasta Sauce almost like Mom's.

When it comes to pasta sauce, mom's always the best. It's comforting, familiar and when you're a kid what's funner than slurping a spaghetti and getting sauce all over your face?!
Today being Mother's Day I decided to make a spaghetti sauce the way she used to make it(and still does I'm guessing...it's been a while since last time I had some...hint hint for my next visit;)) Of course mine NEVER tastes the same as hers, even though I use all the same spices...I know she makes it in a pressure cooker, I don't have one of those so I just cook it slowly on the stove. But I doubt that makes a difference...
Anyway, so whenever I make this I try to re-create the sauce I grew up with, it comes pretty close but not quite. I have to admit I sometimes throw in stuff that wasn't part of the "original", like in this case a green chili pepper(partly because the thing was dying in the crisper...it needed to be used!).
Alright, here are the ingredients:

1 big onion
1 branch celeri
1 carrot
2 cloves garlic
1 green chili pepper(optional, if you don't like heat used green bell pepper, or none at all)
1/2 cup mushrooms
Lean ground beef, about enough for two small burger patties(sorry, didin't weigh it..)
1 big can whole or diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
salt, pepper and paprika
1 bay leaf
dried chili flakes(however much you think you can handle...)
1 TBSP sugar
dried herbs: oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, tarragon.



Cut all the veggies really small, or pulse in a food processor. Sautee the carrots, celeri and onions in a little bit of oil, for about 2 minutes, and salt and pepper right away. I like to season every layer of new flavor I throw in, as it comes along...Next add the mushrooms, pepper and garlic, season with paprika. Sautee for another 2-3 minutes...
Add the beef and brown nicely.



This is where a lot of people deglaze with red wine, and I sometimes do so as well, but I don't really keep wine in the house that much, and Mom never used it so this is how it is.
Pour in the can of tomatoes, sauce and season with more salt and pepper, sugar, dried chili flakes and the bay leaf. When it starts bubbling turn down the heat and simmer for AT LEAST one hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so. In the case of a nice spag sauce, the longer it simmers the better.



Add the tomato paste and the dried herbs near the end, about 15-20 minutes before it's done(it's a guessing game, I know, but it's pretty easy to tell...).
Adjust the seasonnings if you need to, cook some spaghetti and enjoy your comforting bowl of pasta!......well tonight I realized I was out of regular spaghetti so I used soba noodles.



And as usual, it wasn't quite like Mom's, a tad too spicy because of the green chili and the load of chili flakes, so I added a bit of milk, slowly while stirring, to tone it down. I know it sounds weird but it worked...cream would do too!

Oh and don't forget the parmesan or top!!