One of my favourite things to do as a family in the fall is go apple picking. It's one of Aiden's favourite things too, and he basically asked 2,476 times when we were going to go, so we made it a priority last weekend, despite feeling nervous about the crowds that would likely be there.
So we looked for an orchard well outside of Montreal, and ended up at La Magie de la Pomme in St.Eustache. The drive was absolutely picturesque, and one of the reasons I love fall in Canada - the incredible show of colours! And to make the day even better, it was HOT, so we were absolutely loving it!
We took a wagon ride into the orchards and ended up picking two huge bags of apples, which in hindsight, was waaaay too much for a family of 3. I am still working away on these apple recipes, even though I've made 2 apple crisps, healthy apple muffins, and of course, this homemade applesauce. So. Many. Apples!
Even though I wished more parents were wearing masks and being mindful of social distancing that day, this little outing was just what we needed. With all the social distancing and months of not seeing people, it felt like a little bit of "normal" life again, and it felt so good! .
And being able to have many baking sessions with Aiden in our new kitchen has deepened my appreciation for the little things even more. He's such a big boy now and loves helping mama in the kitchen, and it feels so good knowing I am teaching him skills he'll use for a lifetime, as well as a love of food!
Ok, now onto this gem of a recipe!
We used Cortland apples in this one, which are a pretty sweet apple, so we decided to leave this unsweetened. It's such a simple recipe, that's done pretty quickly (depending on how many batches you intend to make, and how fast you peel apples), and apple sauce is so versatile. We eat it as a snack, we put it into other baked good like my Healthy Apple Muffins, and you can add it to just about anything to make it a bit sweeter.
I hope you love it as much as we do - and if you make it, let us know how it turns out!
DELICIOUS HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE
Ingredients:
12 medium/large apples - peeled, cored, quartered and chopped into small chunks
1 cup filtered water
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions:
Place the peeled, cored, quartered and chopped apples in a large pot. Stir in the water, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once simmering, reduce heat to low and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. Maintain a low simmer for 30 minutes or until the apples are completely soft and cooked through.
Once fully cooked, remove from heat. For chunky applesauce, mash the apples directly in the pot using a potato masher. For smooth applesauce, add the apples to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth (if using a blender, work in batches and allow time to cool), or use a hand-held immersion blender and blend directly in the pot.
Makes ~ 3 x pints (16 oz each)
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