In the Kitchen

It has been a busy time of canning for me here in the shoe.
I have been making applesauce and canning it. So far, I have made about 40qts, I plan to make more. For those who have never had homemade applesauce, you don't know what you are missing! It is much more flavorable than store bought. I have to chase my children away while making it, or they will eat it as it is coming out of the strainer!

I like to use a variety of apples, so my sauce is never exactly the same. The last batch of apples I got was Stayman. I did not remember them being so dry. So, I decided to save out some of the sauce and make some apple butter. It has been many years since I've made apple butter. I love the aroma of the apples and spices filling my house. Since the apples were not especially juicey, it did not take as long to cook down either.
If you want to try making apple butter this is how I made mine:

4lbs apples (about 2qts sauce)
3cups sugar (you can add another cup if you use tart apples)
2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp cloves

Simmer on stove until butter can round up on a spoon, and when placed on a cold plate does not seperate.
make sure you stir frequently, to prevent sticking to the pot.
If you accidentally let it cook til it is too thick, you can add a bit of water or apple cider.

Ladle into jars, leaving 1/2in. head space, process 20min in boiling water canner.
This makes about 4pints.

The other thing I made this week was sauerkraut. I cut up two huge heads of cabbage, packed into qt jars, added 1 tsp salt to each jar and filled with boiling water. I covered each jar with a canning disc and ring. Two heads made 15qts. Now they are sitting in pans in my basement to ferment, which will take a few wks, depending on the temperature. I love the flavor of homemade sauerkraut, it is naturally sweet. I can hardly wait to eat it!

Yesterday, I finally brought in the pumpkins my dad left on my back porch several wks ago. They were the large gooseneck type. I peeled then, cut them up and boiled them til soft. (They only have a few seeds in the rounded fat end, which I removed while cutting them up.) After they were soft, I drained them well and put them through my strainer. Then I packed the pulp into quart jars and processed in my canner for 3 hours. This is the first time I ever canned them, I always froze them in the past. But my freezer space is limited now, so I needed to come up with another idea. My house was very steamy by the time the pumpkin was done. I canned 6 qts, and used another quart to make into pies for dessert last night.

The pumpkins Dad gave me were very hard. I'm not sure why. I had a very difficult time peeling them, even after sharpening my knife a few times. I cut my hand three times in the process of peeling. I was so glad when I finished peeling those pumpkins! The cuts are very tender today, but my jars of pumpkin look very pretty lined up on my basement shelf.

I will be sharing some recipes for good things to make with pumpkin in the next few days. I have some little boys who need my help with math now, so I have to run.