The kids and I went apple picking at the local orchard right before Rosh Hashana. It was a beautiful day and we picked a wagon-full of apples. Tonight I turned them into apple sauce. We picked golden delicious apples—the variety that was ripe that day—which are great eating apples but not particularly tart or full-flavored. A great applesauce would best be made from a tarter apple. My neighbors brought me some homemade sauce yesterday, made from an apple perfectly suited to a sugar-free, stand-on-its own apple sauce. These golden delicious apples, however, all two pecks of them, needed a boost, so I added some sour-cherry juice to some; blueberries to the rest.

When you make your own apple sauce you can taste as you go, adjusting the flavor by adding some sugar, other berries, cinnamon or even some lemon juice. As I tasted, I used the black board in my kitchen to keep track of my adjustments, so that I could jot down the final recipe.

I have a blackboard on my kitchen wall, which I made by painting blackboard paint directly onto the wall. I use it to jot down quantities as I add ingredients so that I can keep track of a new recipe.

Applesauce

Quarter and core the apples, place in a large pot with about 4 inches of water. Cook until the apples are tender, which should only take about 30 minutes or so. Run through a Foley food mill. Discard the peels.

Cherry-applesauce (makes 4-1/2 pints, plus some to taste)

• 8 c. pressed apples (see above)
• 2 c. sour cherry juice (freeze the juice next time you pit some cherries)
• 1/2 c. sugar, to taste
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice, to taste

Heat to a boil, can into hot, sterilized jars, water process for 20 minutes.

Blueberry-applesauce (makes 4-1/2 pints plus some to taste)

• 8 c. pressed apples (see above)
• 3 c. mashed or blended blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice

Heat to a boil, can into hot, sterilized jars, water process for 20 minutes.

Is there anything prettier than jars filled with bits of summer?