Test Kitchen Thursday - Applesauce

My family LOVES applesauce!  When I was growing up I remember my mom would sometimes let me go down to the basement and pick out the fruit for supper.  I loved this responsibility - standing looking at the shelves of canned goods tasked with choosing just the right item.  Now sometimes mom would tell me no cherries - I loved her canned cherries - would have eaten them for every meal.  So, my second choice was her applesauce.  A close third were the peaches!

So what fun to make applesauce with my own little guys.  And eventually when they're old enough I'll task them with picking the fruit for supper!

Here is what I started out with - 12 pounds of apples.  I needed to use up the Red and Golden Delicious apples that we picked in Indiana.  In addition, (to add flavor) I bought some Fuji and Granny Smith.

I used the applesauce recipe from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  You can find the recipe HERE on Ball's website too!  

When processing I always used an approved recipe.  The ingredients for applesauce are pretty straight forward - apples, lemon juice and sugar (if needed).  I decided to just go with plain old applesauce since I can use it in baking this way.  Plus, I can always add red hots or cinnamon/spices to it before serving if we want something special.  Mmmm - warm cinnamon applesauce!

The boys wanted to help too (nothing new there - I'm raising a couple little chefs).  They were fascinated by all the tools.

Here's where my test kitchen piece comes in.  I've made plenty of applesauce but always the hard way.  This year I tested a couple different pieces of equipment.  Last year (after apple season) we bought a counter top apple slicer, peeler, corer.  It DID NOT work today - at least not for me.  What's worse after just a few apples the tines bent.  The only plus was the boys enjoyed turning the crank (and no, mommy was working it when it broke - not them).

So, I chucked in that idea.  Not wanting to waste time I decided to just chop the apples up, soften them up and run through the KitchenAid.  YES - that was the answer!  I did not core or peel - just chopped up.  After softening the apples on the stove and allowing a brief cool down I put them through the Fruit/Vegetable strainer attachment on my KitchenAid.  Perfect applesauce!

Mom and dad gave this to us last year and we used it for processing pumpkin (it was after apple season).  Worked great for pumpkin so hoped it would be perfect for apples.  Last year it took my sister-in-law and I HOURS of work putting all of our applesauce through food mills and even after all that hand cranking there were still bits and pieces of peel in the sauce.  Took me all of 20 minutes to process my applesauce through the KitchenAid strainer.  If you do a lot of processing, make your own baby food, etc and you don't have one of these it should be on your Christmas list!

Yes, I am very thankful to have my KitchenAid - my original was a wedding gift from mom and dad, later they upgraded me to the 5 quart and my sister inherited my original.  I can truly say we're a KitchenAid family - mom always had one (at least as long as I can remember) and so did my grandma.  In fact, we found my grandma's original in her basement when we cleaned it out - it had to be one of the first produced.  So yes, this family believes in our mixers (and I'm not paid a dime to say that)!

Back on task - the boys thoroughly enjoyed watching the sauce come out and the little fruit "poo" drop down into the second bowl (which the chickens later enjoyed).

In no time at all we had over 4 quarts of sauce.

I ended up with 8 1/2 pints.  We would have had 9 pints but we sampled some for lunch.  I only used 1 1/2 cups of sugar (rather than the 3 in the recipe) since the sauce was already pretty sweet.  Plus, I like my applesauce slightly tart.

Once I get the recipe officially typed up and filed in my 2011 ISF entry folder I can add one more entry to the list.  I'm on an apple kick this week - I think we need some apple butter and the recipe for cinnamon apple syrup just looks too yummy to pass up.  This family doesn't buy store bought syrup anymore.  We only use the fruit syrups we've put up - so much better!  I do buy a little pure maple syrup from Vermont because sometimes you still need a little maple goodness!

Organizing My Idea Journal

First things first - took some time out to whip up a little pincushion - based on this blog post by Spun Sugar Quilts.  It was a fun project since I rarely get to work with purple and pinks.

Back side:

Now I have some happy pins sitting next to my machine!

On to the main heading of the blog post - organizing my Idea Journal.  Today I took some time to get my ideas organized.  Was very tired of having to flip back through magazines or blog posts/tutorials, my projects saved on the hard drive, etc to remember my ideas.  Plus, after writing my zillionth list of people and their Christmas gift ideas I decided I needed one location for everything.

So, I went through my on-line and hard drive saved/flagged projects and printed off what I needed; found my magazines & catalogs with project/gift ideas and sorted them out.  Pulled out a really cute journal that I bought for just such an occasion.

Tore out the project inspirations from catalogs and clipped them to the appropriate person's page in my journal.

See - tucked beneath all those catalog clippings is a person's name with gift ideas (to make and/or purchase) along with notes about where to find something, what is still needed to complete the gift and other ideas to enhance the inspiration.  For the boys I also jotted down ideas of items they might like so that when grandparents ask I have actual ideas!

I don't like tearing up my magazines and I didn't want to take the time or spend the money on ink to scan and print the projects I wanted so I came up with this idea.  Took these cute little sticky tabs (yes, I'm an admitted office supply junkie) and came up with a cross-reference system.  The green tabs went in the magazines with a number - the corresponding number is in the journal on the blue tabs (OK - I also color code anything I can - you should see my work files).  When I need to find the project I just need to look up the number.   I'm only using a couple of magazines so this is pretty manageable.

In the front of the book I have my entire list of everyone that is on the family gift giving list - to ensure I don't forget anyone.

Also put together my thrifting list so I can do some upcycling when making some gifts.

There - now I should be set.  Plus, I no longer feel so disorganized.  I have a clear plan, a set of priorities and  an easy way to find what I need!  Now to find little snippets (and a few big ones) of time to complete some of them.

Finally, a little cuteness - Grant wanted to help mommy with some computer stuff and we ended up playing with the camera.  He was a happy camper!

Little Things I'm Thankful For:

Little men playing in t-shirts in November - so thankful for the beautiful weather!

Little chickens that eat bugs, give us eggs and provide entertainment (also happily enjoying the beautiful weather).

Jack the house cat who fiercely defends our space (or naps).

Happy, healthy baby kittens playing in the sun!

Bountiful harvests and pretty fall decor!

What little things are you thankful for today?

Quilt Blocks & Educational Opportunities

The block below is Block #1 for the "Layer Cake Quilt Along."  The layer cake I'm using is Punctuation by American Jane for Moda fabrics.  I thought it would be a fun design and has that vintage feel I like.  This block is an "Alabama Spinner" block designed by Gene Black. 

It was fun to make and only took me a couple hours on Saturday morning to piece together.  The best part is I learn some new things each time I work on something which I figure can only help improve my sewing.  Gene let us decide whether we wanted to applique the circle in the center.  Using the Bernina (which has some really fancy stitches I haven't tried yet) it was so simple.  The machine did a fantastic job!

When I heard the boys wake up I took the block upstairs to show them.  Clark was so excited the first thing he did was start telling me all the shapes that were on it!  Circle, triangle, square, rectangle.  He then started in on naming letters and we had a lesson on punctuation marks!

The boys were so smitten with the block I had a hard time photographing it without little fingers pointing at it :)

I'm excited to see what the next block will be!  I thought this fabric choice would be a perfect one for me to snuggle under while watching evening TV - looks like I may be sharing it with some little boys learning their letters and shapes (and punctuation marks)!

What Could it Be?

Cue the Christmas music . . .

String the lights (really, mild November days like these in Iowa just beg us to put up outdoor decor) . . .

Put National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation in the DVD player, AND . . .

Make the WREATHS!

Look what arrived at my house this weekend --

 

Balsam, Fraser and Cedar greens! (Next weekend the white pine will come.)  Technically only about half is for me - the other half will go to my brother for wreath making fun.

I love walking in my garage now - the smell of evergreen wafts through the air!

Just remember - I gladly give wreath making lessons in exchange for a couple hours of clipping greens :) - ah, you only think I'm joking!

Small Autumn Arrangement Tutorial

These are very simple little autumn decorations to make.  They are also very cost effective.  I made 20 of them two years ago for less than $30.

Here's what you'll need (this should make 3 pots):

Floral Oasis (for dry arranging - don't use the oasis for live arrangements there is a big difference) - cylinder shaped for this project (I matched the size to the pot).  You will only need one as it will be cut into three pieces.
3 Miniature terra cotta flower pots
Spanish moss (1 small bag)
Assorted/Bunch Faux Fall Leaves
Pumpkins (the ones I used were in a packaged set for ornament/hanging use)
Tools:
Hot Glue Gun
Floral "U" shaped Pins (nice to have but not essential)
Knife
Wire Cutters

You can see some of the tools I use in the photo below.  For this project I didn't need the floral wire or floral tape but they aren't bad to have on hand for arrangement projects.  This project uses cylindrical foam (or oasis) rather than block foam (see next photo).

Set it in so you get a good measure and mark with knife where the top of container is (do not cut through on this mark).  The foam will not go completely to the bottom and that's OK for this small of a project.

Cut at least 1/4 - 1/2" above the top of the container mark -- this should yield 3 similar size pieces (which gives the ability to make 3 of these quickly).

Put a ring of hot glue around the foam and glue into the container (you don't have to do this step but it helps with stability).  Take a "clump" of moss - enough to cover top and sides of foam - put some drops of glue on foam and glue down.

Press the moss gently and fill in any gaps where the foam may show through.

To further secure (if you wish) gently mold the moss and push floral "U" pins into the oasis.

Now lay out the items you have that you would like to decorate with.  I like to do this to see what I have to work with.

If you have some pieces that aren't pre-picked (have a stem for pushing into the floral oasis) it is easy to make them into picks.  Use an awl or other sharp object and make a small hole.

Then push a spare piece of stem from an arrangement you've cut from - or, use a dowel, small stick, lollipop stick, bamboo skewer (you get the idea) into the hole (use a little glue if it doesn't seem secure).

Start placing your floral decorations.  With an artificial arrangement it's very easy to move items if you don't like the way it looks.

I usually start with the base items - like the leaves in this case.  Then add in the flowers.

And finally the pumpkin "centerpiece" of the arrangement.  You could also add a bow or some ribbon.

Here are my 3 finished mini-arrangements.  My favorite is actually the one on  the right - just leaves and pumpkin (very simple).

Here's a close-up:

This is the close-up of the one with flowers and berries:

Here they are on display - I was happily surprised when the pots fit perfectly in my tea cups!

Happy Fall Decorating!

Give Thanks Banner

I am thankful that my Give Thanks Countdown Calendar is finished before Thanksgiving!  This pattern is from Everyday Celebrations by LeAnne.  You can also find lots of her super cute patterns at her Etsy Shop.

This was the first major project I did on grandma's Bernina since getting it back from the shop.  Wow!  The machine is so quiet and runs so smooth.  It treated the felt like it was no problem at all!  I really love this little banner and hope it will become a nice family tradition; maybe even heirloom.

I've considered putting together an Advent Calendar but I think I'll do that project next year.  We have the Fisher Price Little People Nativity Advent Calendar that works well for a 1 and 3 year old.  This year when we visited the Mall of America we stopped by the LEGO store and picked up the 2010 LEGO Advent Calendar too - so, I think we're set for this year.  But, I'm filing all those cute Advent Calendar ideas I'm starting to see on-line for the 2011 season!

Looked up the Iowa State Fair entry list (2010 list) and there is a class for Sewing for the Home - Holiday Decoration.  Unless I put together something I like better this fits the class (and makes #3 for November)!