Saturday, October 15, 2011

Today's Favorite Things

These are some of my favorite things on a breezy October morning:

First off, a snuggly baby boy, fast asleep in his carseat after an eventful trip to the farmer's market.


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Second, a ton of produce: squash, potatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, and a big box of tomatoes and peppers from friends whose garden has given them a bounty.

 
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This particular tomato. It is huge.


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Several things in this next photo: a good, hot mocha with more coffee than chocolate; several gourds that spontaneously sprouted from our compost pile; hand-poured soy candles; jadeite pieces; odd cow creamers; and a large bouquet that turned into two, separated into beloved ball jars.


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Kids in aprons, eager to help, as their dad prepares to process apples and pumpkins. (That thing on the end of the table is our "Squeezo," which expertly separates all the seeds and cores from cooked fruits and vegetables from the good, usable portions. Best thing ever.)


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Finally, homemade applesauce. First, pick lots of apples at a local orchard, then bring them home and cook them in large pots until the skins are starting to slip off. Then run them through your trusty Squeezo. Voila! Instant applesauce!

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These are just a few things that have filled my heart with joy and delight today. I have way more blessings, but not enough patience to photograph them all and report on them here. So please content yourselves with these homey, delightful comforts.

Happy fall!

4 comments:

Tracy said...

yum! I love homemade apple sauce!

Raechel said...

We made homemade applesauce on Thursday! No squeezo, but we used out trusty peeler-corer-slicer, then just warmed them on the stovetop until they were blender-ready. Smells so good, eh?

Your kids are so big and serious! Love.

Kedin.

Gallo Pinto2 said...

I love homemade applesauce too! My mother in law cans it each year (she has a squeezo type thing too!) along with having it fresh too and I love "stealing" her jars from her!

what is your process with the pumpkin and what all do you use it in? I'd love to know because I LOVE pumpkin but hate how expensive it is to buy the not-so-great canned stuff!

-Denise

Christine said...

Denise: Cook the pumpkins till soft, de-seed, then send the guts through the Squeezo. Voila, instant pureed pumpkin! If you don't want to use it immediately, then freeze portions in freezer bags. We learned the hard way: do NOT put in glass, as the pumpkin has a lot of water that will expand and shatter the jars. I bake and cook with pumpkin all fall/winter long. Soups, muffins, breads, anything I can throw it into. We are orange by March.