Real Applesauce

Since I've joined the Real Food revolution around here,
I have been going through my tried and true recipes
and seeing if I can re-work them to fit the Real Food critera.
Many recipes I don't have to change at all, but some needed a tweak here and there.
Since it's apple season and I'm making applesauce today,
I thought I would revisit my Fabulous Applesauce post from a while back.

It definitely fits the Real Food profile.
Just apples.
No sugar.
No additives.

I do bathe the cut pieces in 100 % pineapple juice to prevent browning.
But that doesn't count as an additive.

So here's the original post.
Happy Canning!

 Apple season is upon us.  I love this time of year and Apples are my favorite.  

I wanted to make applesauce for a while and finally had a chance to do it.  

It's not really time consuming especially if you have a pressure cooker.  

I used 4 different varieties of apples.  

The combination makes Fab-u-lous Applesauce and there isn't any sugar in it at all.  

Even better.

I used Golden Delicious, Fuji, Gala, & Jonathan Apples. 

Really, you just need multiple varieties. 

Choose your favorites.  

I just wouldn't add a tart apple like Granny Smith.  

Let's save those for Pie Filling.

Wash them and then cut out core.  

No need to skin them.

Put them in a bowl of 100% Pineapple juice before processing to prevent browning.

Put apple pieces in pressure cooker in steamer basket with 1 cup water in the bottom.

This is the pressure cooker I use.  

Here is the link to Amazon were you can get one of your own.

Heat on high to bring pressure to 2nd ring.

Remove from heat and place in sink to run cold water over the sides of the pan.  

This will drop the pressure rapidly.  Ladle out cooked apples and put in blender.  

Blend to desired consistency.  

I left mine in for about 1 minute for a smooth texture.

Pour hot applesauce into prepared jars and attach lids and rings.

You could add cinnamon or other spices to the applesauce at this point but I wanted mine plain so I could doctor it up later if I wanted to.

Process in boiling water or steam canner for 20 minutes.

Let rest 24 hours. Lable and add to your pantry.

Homemade Real Applesauce.  Fabulously Yummy!

Crock-Pot Peach Butter - Low Sugar

Yumm....

Still Peach Season.

I've tried apple and pear butter with fabulous results, 

but this time I wanted to try a spiced peach butter. 

Then make it low sugar. 

 I've been loving replacing sugar with dates.  

If I can go 'ah natural' I will try to.

This recipe is super easy to make.

I modified the original recipe from Pick Your Own.

She has a great site all about preserving nature's bounty, where to find pick your own fruit farms, and more.

So let's get started.

Spiced Low Sugar Peach Butter

Since this is a low sugar version, I'm using dates.

You will need just shy of 2 cups dates.

Cover them with water and set aside to soften.

Wash, pit, and dice about 20 peaches.

Put them in your crock-pot.

I didn't peel them.

The original recipe says to peel them, 

but I believe there is extra nutritional goodness in the peels, plus I'm a little lazy.  

This saves an extra hour-ish of work to par-boil the peaches to slip the skins.  

If you don't want the peels, feel free to remove them.

You will  need about 5-8 more peaches washed, pitted, and sliced.

Don't worry about dicing them because they are going into the blender with the dates

When you have the crock-pot mostly full of diced peaches, drain off most of the water from the dates and pour them into a blender along with the other 5-8 peaches that have been pitted and sliced.

Add the following spices:

2 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

1 tsp nutmeg

3 cups sugar

1 Tbsp Molasses

Blend well to make a puree.

It looks kind of like peanut butter to me, but it's the yummy syrup for the Peaches.

Pour syrup over the peaches and stir to coat.

Loosely cover the crock-pot.

You want some of the steam to escape but none of the splatters.

Cook on low for at least 12 hours.

This is what it looks like after cooking.

It has reduced down by about 1/3.

Use your immersion blender to smooth out the peach butter.

This batch yields 6 pints.

Prepare the lids and jars by putting the lids in hot water to soften the rubber.

I use a steam canner, but the timing would be the same for a water bath canner.

Attach lids and rings and process in a canner for 15 minutes.

Remove from canner and set on a cooling rack for 24 hours to ensure the lids seal.

Label and add to your pantry.

There was just enough left for a topping on my waffle for breakfast.

It was heavenly!

Happy Canning!

Summer Bliss

It's definitely summer here in hot Arizona.
Kids are out of school.
Vacations are coming soon!
And summer fruit harvest is just beginning.
I have to say that my favorite part of Summer has to be watermelon.
Yep.  It's my absolute favorite thing to eat.
Fresh ripe berries are a close second.
And since both are super cheap, ripe and ready, I'm in heaven.
Today's recipe is similar to my Wa.S.P. jam, but I couldn't think
of a fun acronym so we decided to just call it Summer's Bliss.
It really is!  Each bite screams summer to my taste buds.
So let's get started.

Summer Bliss Jam

You will need a total of 5 cups fruit puree.

I used 3 cups watermelon

1 cup raspberry

1 cup blueberry

Put all fruit in blender and puree to desired consistency.

Pour puree into large stock pot, along with

1/4 cup lemon juice.

You can see mine is a little chunky.  Just the way we like it.

Follow the instructions on your pectin box.

I only used 4 cups sugar for this jam.  It was the perfect amount of sweet.

Prepare your jars while the puree boils.

Bring to a full hard boil, then add the 4 cups sugar all at once.

Bring back to a full boil and let boil for 1 minute.

Put lids in water over medium-low heat and bring water to just below a boil.

Pour jam into prepared jars and attach lids and rings.

Process in your boiling water/steam canner for 10 minutes.

Let cool for 24 hours.

Lable and add to your pantry.

I made 2 batches and got just shy of 8 pints, 

since my canner only holds 7 jars at a time, 

we had some to use right now.

Slather on your favorite slice of bread and enjoy!

Another perfect combination of summer's bounty.

MMMmmm... Summer Bliss!

Vegetable Barley Stew in a Jar

My local Ranch Market has had some fabulous deals on produce lately.  I'm curently doing my applesauce from two 40 lb boxes of apples that only cost me $16.  That's $.20 per pound.  Awesome!  This time I'm sharing a vegetable barley stew that uses some potatoes that I got for 10 lbs for $1.  I don't know. I think $.10 a pound for potatoes beats the apples.  Either way, my pantry is stocked and I'm happy.  I like this recipe because it's so versatile.  I can use the stew mix to make... well, stew, and chicken noodle soup, pot pie, really the options are endless. Plus you add some barley to increase the nutritional value.  If you have a food processor, this will be quick and easy.  If not, get ready to do some cutting with your paring knife.

Vegetable Barley Stew in a Jar

Gather your spices.  You will need the following:

Salt

Boullion (chicken, beef, or vegetable)

Parsley

Garlic Salt

You will also need some pearl barley.

Prepare your jars.

In each jar layer the following:

1/2 tsp salt

1 heaping tsp boullion

1 Tbsp pearl barley

1 tsp parsley

1/2 tsp garlic salt

Wash and cut your veggies.

I cut mine like this so it was easy to put into the food processor.

 I'm using my Bosch Slicer/Shredder.

There are 2 blades I'm using, one is the large slicer for the

onions, carrots, and celery.

And the fry cutter for the potatoes.  I could have done discs

with the potatoes, but I thought the fry shape was more fun.

Layer a handful of onions, celery, and carrots in each jar.

Top it all off with potatoes.

5 lbs of potatoes will fill 7 jars.

Fill each jar with water.

Heat the lids in simmering water.

Fix lids and rings on each jar and place in a Pressure Canner.

You can't do vegetables in a steam canner.

The one I use is on my sidebar from Amazon.

Pressure for 25 minutes at 12 lbs pressure.

Let pressure drop naturally.

Let jars cool on wire rack for 24 hours.

Lable with date and add to your pantry.

Filled jars on your pantry shelf.

It's a beautiful thing!