Applesauce {Preserved} & Roses of Contentment

In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year,
bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil.
And at no season, safe perhaps in Daffodil time,
do we get such superb colour effects as from August to November.
Rose G. Kingsley
The Autumn Garden

 

 

Reaching down, I grasped the two handles of the bushel basket and heaved the heavy basket onto the outdoor table. Beautiful, red and green apples lay inside the bushel basket, a product of the fall harvest here in Ontario. Greedy wasps swarmed around the basket, wanting their share of the prize, but I swatted them away and tried to keep my distance from the tiny, painful pests.

{Did you know apples are part of the rose family? What a precious fact!}

 

Sitting down at the table, I pulled out each apple and began slicing and dropping the cubed fruit into my big stock pot. Looking up I could see fresh, clean laundry – the lace curtains from the backroom, along with the daily load of laundry – dancing in the crisp breeze. The girls, after a morning of helping with chores and school work, were free to run and play – they were squealing and making happy children noises from the trampoline. The two little boys were settled in the sandbox, happy to be playing with their tractors and making a sandy mess.

The October sun was shining bright and clear. Careful not to cut my fingers, I managed another glance around the yard … red tinged maple leaves scattered throughout the branches of our largest Silver Maple tree told us of the forthcoming winter months … there were a few straggling Canadian geese, clumsily honking and flying the wrong way (perhaps there was a pond they were attempting to reach for a snack and flying break) … and the smell of rain in the air. This indeed is my favorite time of year. It is so cozy, so comfortable, it draws one home and begs for popcorn and apple cider, impromtu bonfires and early cozy nights in warm houses … not to mention, visits to apple orchards for apple picking.

 

As my knife deftly sliced through each apple, my thoughts wandered … these were moments that I truly felt contentment. I’ve been working on this character trait for a while. It is not always easy, I must admit, to feel content when situations do not go my way … perhaps my husband is required to work extra long hours and is not able to take a day off with the family … or my day does not go as planned and there are quite a few unforseen interruptions, throwing school and life off schedule … maybe a little one wakes up in a foul mood and decides to be miserable for most of the day … a little one is unwell and needs extra attention … whatever it may be, on some days, there are many reasons that I am tempted to feel discontentment.

I find if I fill my mind and heart with encouragement – Bible verses, hymns and encouraging, wisdom-filled books or writings – then I can easily handle those moments that threaten to topple me into the depths of despair.

Also, looking at these sweet children of mine that the Lord has blessed me with … well, that always cheers me up. 🙂

 

 

I am working on holding my tongue, refraining from speaking complaints and negative thoughts … I also am praying over the situation that is causing me trouble, giving it to God instead of worrying or fretting about the details. It is easy to find the thorn in our day, but not so easy to always find the hidden rose.
I’m working on focusing on the roses –like these two little Men in my life …

 

{my new-to-me stockpot … just a bit bigger than my first stock pot}

Here is one rose in my day … my eldest daughter and I were able to slip out to a thrift store recently with the two little brothers. I spied this large stock pot (on the left) at the thrift store and just sang up a praise to God! I have been wanting/needing another stock pot for some time. And at $8, this was a great find. Thank you, Lord! I have used it for all my canning since then.

Speaking of canning, here is the Promised Apple Sauce recipe which was requested. I feel silly calling it a recipe because apple sauce is really just cooked apples – you may add sugar, vanilla, spices (cinnamon or nutmeg) as you wish. And that is it.

Place all your cut up apples in a large pot and cook gently over a low heat. Add whatever you wish, according to taste. I have added sugar to one batch and also processed a batch with just plain apples.

In this particular batch you will find a dash of cane sugar, some cinnamon and a splash of vanilla.

 

Once your apples are cooked and soft, use a hand immersion blender or a food strainer to puree your apples. And that is it, my friends!

 

 

 

To preserve your apple sauce, ladle sauce into hot jars  leaving 1/2 inch head space.

Wipe the rims clean, remove any air bubbles and place your lids on the jars. Process in the water bath canning for 20 minutes (start timing from when the water begins to boil).

 

 

 

 

Once the time is up, remove jars carefully from your pot and let them cool on your counter for 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove the rings and check for proper seals.  Here are a few of the jars finished … the rest of them have already been stashed away neatly into the Provision Room.

 

 

P.S. Here is another rose in my day … my inlaws picked up some fresh pears for me (so grateful as I was wanting to preserve some for winter) and I found these adorable potholders at the thrift store …

Aren’t they adorable?

I hope you can find some roses in your day, as well.

 

 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee;
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:
Isaiah 43;2-3