So, Rosh Hashana is over. Your excuse to not go attend classes for “religious reasons” is moot for the next ten days. The crazy fruits have been eaten, the apple-themed shul outfits have been worn, and your ears are a bit hung over from their shofar drunk.
But wait, what do you do with all those dang apples that you bought and THOUGHT you’d eat (but instead spent your stomach time devouring the delicious kougels and salads and briskets). If you went to Chabad or Hillel for your Rosh Hashana meal, I am sure that you staggered home as gorged as I did. And, were then annoyingly greeted by a kitchen full of apples that you had no idea what to do with.
I am aware that it is possible that I have more apples than you, given that, just two days ago, I went apple picking in preparation for the perceived two days of malus domestica feasting. Side note: in Latin, ‘apple’ and ‘evil’ come from the same root… anyways, evil these little red and yellow critters are not! The sun was shining, my workload was light, and High Hills orchard is just a few hillsides away. At $1.50 per pound, there was literally no limit to my picking. I climbed those swirling tree limbs as high as I possibly could, throwing off my shoes in delight, pretending for twenty minutes that I was still six years old.
Note to reader: you should definitely go apple picking if you have the chance. Even if you go to a school in the city, I bet there are orchards just twenty minutes away. The thrill and cidery smells are worth the trek.
So now that I have buckets (note: plural) of apples lingering in my kitchen, there is only one option: make apple sauce. Why? Because it is Literally The Easiest Thing You Can Possibly Make. And tastes delicious.
So here goes:
Apple Sauce.
Ingredients:
Apples, cored and quartered (As many as you want. I would say minimum should be about 20)
Spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger
Big Pot
Directions:
- Grab a group of friends and sit around your kitchen table cutting your apples. The method of which you do so depends on your panache—but I like to cut the apples into four big pieces around the core (thereby eliminating the hard core and seeds), and then chopping those pieces into cubey chunks. Collect all apple chunks in a big bowl. (Peeling optional. It is a total pain, and leaving the peel in the sauce gives it a nice orangey color.)
- Once you have your bowl of cut n’ cored apples, pour them into a large pot. Put the pot under the sink for about seven seconds, to get a tiny bit of water in it, but not too much. While the apples cook, they make their own water.
- Put the pot on the stove, and turn on medium-high. It should sit for about half an hour, or until it looks like a cohesive gloup. Stir every five minutes or so.
- Sprinkle in cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger while it is cooking. Be generous with these.
- Remove from heat, eat and enjoy!
Two more awesome things about apple sauce that should convince you to make it, if my amazing step-by-step recipe hasn’t:
- It can keep in the freezer for up to a year!
- a la mode.
