Applesauce

Whereas my grandmother canned everything from the garden and orchard, two of the few things my mother canned were applesauce and apple butter. Both were really good, but too sweet for my tastebuds, even as a teenager. I've always liked fruit to taste like fruit. These days, I want fruit products with no chemical additives. The best way to achieve this is to process my own.

Having obtained a very small amount of apples, I cored and sliced them, cooked them in the roaster, then ran them through a food mill to remove the peels. Once the apples were milled, I added the juice of one lemon so the applesauce would retain its color and one cup of sugar to add a hint of sweetness. I'm sure when the spousal unit eats his serving, he'll add more. Adding extra sugar and salt is something he's learned to deal with over the years. 

I think next time, if I have a larger amount of apples to process, I'll use the Kitchen Aid to peel the apples and toss them in the Ninja blended after they've cooked. Using the food mill on a large batch would be tiresome.

Applesauce is something that can be processed using a water bath. It's rather straightforward. To follow in my foremother's footsteps, one would core and peel a bushel of apples, boil them down to a mush, drain off the excess liquid, add copious amounts of sugar, and water bath for twenty minutes. 

I had about nine pounds of apples which yielded nine half-pint jars of applesauce. If I'm gifted with more apples, I'll make some apple butter. 

Eating food we've preserved is going to become a bigger part of our eating here on the manor. We both want to cut down on food additives, and for us, this is the best way to do that. Buying organic applesauce would be fine, but having learned a lot of the "old ways" from my grandmother, those are the ways I want to practice. 

For me, it's coming full circle and coming home. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

Homemade bagels

Not so very long ago we made the decision to cut down on the amount of added chemicals and preservatives we consume. We're not turning fanatic, but we're taking steps. One of those steps is baking our own breads. We love bagels so we found a good recipe and gave it a try. The end result was, in a word, wonderful! 

We chose a very simple recipe: 
3.5 cups flour
1 packet instant dry yeast
1.5 tablespoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons salt
1-1/3 cup warm water

We have a Kitchen Aid stand mixer that, when purchased, was a game-changer to the way we cook. We combined the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl with the dough hook installed, and slowly added the water until the dough ball formed. After that, let the dough rise for an hour, and then formed the bagels. Once the bagels were formed, the tricky part came in to play. 

The bagels needed to be boiled, two minutes per side, and then placed on the baking sheet. The boiling is where the rough texture happens. Once on the baking sheet, give them a little eggwash and bake at 425F for 20 minutes. 

We consider our first attempt at bagels a success. They toasted nicely, smelled fresh and yeasty, and tasted better than store-bought. Six went in the freezer for upcoming weekend fare. 

It's not that we think baking bread together will solve all the problems with chemicals in our food, but it's one small thing we can do here on the manor. If we were twenty years younger, we'd have a large garden but we've settled for container gardening. We can't eliminate one-hundred percent of additives and chemicals from our diet but we'll do it when and where we can. It's one of life's trade-offs, and we accept that. 

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor

Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Some time ago, the spousal unit and I agreed we needed to change some of our eating habits. I can't recall exactly what it was we learned about food additives and preservatives that brought about the discussion although it was likely on one of those exposé newscasts.  Our decision has led to a lot of experimentation in cooking and baking. 

We're not total fanatics about cutting additives out of our food. It doesn't take a degree in rocket science to know that in our situation it's unlikely to happen. We're not raising our own chickens (yet), raising a beef cow (yet), or growing all our own veggies (yet). Chickens bring in the foxes, three wooded acres isn't right for a steer, and there's too much shade for a big garden. That's just the way it is. I am not selling the manor, either. We bow to practicalities. 

Starting small and working forward, we agreed to forego any and all store-bought cookies. We love, love, love cookies and so this means I'm going to be baking a lot of cookies. 

I bake a batch, divide them into dozens, and freeze them. Storing them in the freezer in the basement helps slow our consumption, too. 

On a recent Saturday night, he wanted cookies and we were all out. I checked the pantry and determined the only cookie I had ingredients for were oatmeal cookies. My check also revealed half a bag of white chocolate chips and a partial bag of Craisins. So I tossed them into what was the standard oatmeal cookie dough and discovered one of our new favorite cookies. Serendipity at work.

The Lady of Holly Tree Manor