A few weekends ago, Justin and I took advantage of the fall-like weather (ok, it was fall time of year, but it was 82 degrees, so not so much fall like temps) and went apple picking. I failed at bringing along the camera for this adventure, but it was tons of fun! This was the best apple orchard we've been to - Hartland Orchand in Markham VA. We had a lot of fun picking the best apples, and ended up with a bushel of apples, a gallon of cider, a pumpkin, and a jar of honey. Not a bad haul if I do say so myself!
Back home, I got started on the applesauce making. This is one of my favorite things to make - it's delicious and fairly easy to make. Last year I made a small batch just in time for getting my wisdom teeth out and it was heavenly to eat. This year, I decided to try canning it.
Since it was my first time canning, I had to guestimate how many apples would make a batch. This is the part where Justin got bored and went off to play Destiny. This batch took 4 hours to cook because I did not cut up the pieces small enough.
I loved the canning part though! So cool to dunk them in the hot water bath and then hear the lids popping as they cool. The house smelled so good as we went to bed - it was like fall had seeped into each corner of our bedroom.
The final product! So proud of this first batch. We made a second batch with cinnamon, which is my favorite. I still have a ton of apples to use, so there will be more applesauce to come!