We’ll be younger in the morning…

These are in the Maverick station, I stare at them while waiting for the T… a lot.

I would love to live back then… sigh.

I canned for the first time!

Eight jars of apple butter. It’s pretty damn amazing!

Apple Butter:

15 lbs of apples peeled and chopped small
4 cups of apple cider
2 cups honey
2 cups packed brown sugar
3 tblsp cinnamon
3 tsp nutmeg
3 tsp ground clove
2 tsp allspice

Adjust recipe depending on the type of apples you use; less sugar for sweeter apples. My apples were pretty tart.

Put apples and cider in stock pot, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer with the lid on. Stir every fifteen minutes or so. Boil apples down (takes a awhile) until all the chunks are gone. Stir in the spices and sweet stuff. Leave the lid off and continue to boil liquid out. Remember to stir often.

Wait until it starts to get thick to taste test, flavors intensify as the liquid boils out.

I found this helpful… “Remove a spoonful and hold it away from steam for 2 minutes. It is done if the butter remains mounded on the spoon. Another way to determine when the butter is cooked adequately is to spoon a small quantity onto a plate. When a rim of liquid does not separate around the edge of the butter, it is ready for canning.” website

Finish up with a hand blender to make it smooth.

This process took about 12 hours so plan a time when you’re going to be home all day.

Spoon hot apple butter into sterile jars and lightly tighten lids. They will seal as they cool… Brilliant!

I went to a metering workshop Saturday at Harvard… I’ve never really walked around there, kinda cool.

We have a friend that’s a vegetarian, I love it when they come over and I can experiment with new dishes.

Vegetarian French Onion Soup:

Four to six large onions thinly sliced (mandoline)
1 stick of butter
1 heaping tblsp flour
2 quarts vegetable broth
1/2 bottle red wine
black pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
2 cayenne peppers
2 fresh sprigs of thyme

Melt butter in a large pot, add onions. Cook down until the onions caramelized. Stir in flour. Add the liquids first, then the rest of the ingredients. Let it simmer down (with the lid off) for about 30-45 min.

Cut up a baguette and stick in the oven until they turn into large round croutons. Pile Gruyere (preferred) or Swiss cheese on top of the croutons and stick back in the oven until melted. Add two or three to the top of each bowl of soup.

This is a large recipe (I needed to use up a lot of onions). It easily serves 10, or enough to freeze.