The Anna apple butter turned out perfectly. It is DELICIOUS! However, it caused me to order a new kitchen devise...an immersion blender.
If you could have seen the methods I had to use to preserve the batch you would have been appalled! After two days of slow cooking, a gooey thick dark brown mass is what you find in the cooker. It smells delicious, tastes good and is ready for the puree step of the recipe. I thought it would be easy to transfer the product to the upright blender and just turn it on PUREE...NO. The mixture would not blend without sending large globs onto me...everyplace but the apron, that is. I had to fill the blender half full, add juice, then blend and transfer to another pot...a process that took a lot of time. The immersion blender will solve THAT problem.
I added apple juice to enable the mix to attain the right consistency...cooked it awhile more and used a water bath method for canning...and, of course, I had given away my canner. A large roasting pan and the deep pasta cooker worked just as well... Result? Ten 1/2 pint jars and four quart sized jars, now stacked in the cupboard...we will eat some and have enough for gifts, too!
Picking apples again, today...this time to use in an applesauce recipe using unpeeled apples. I sure hope my immersion blender arrives in time !
APPLE BUTTER
Fill slow cooker with unpeeled apple chunks. Add 2 or more teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. allspice, 1/2 tsp. ground cloves and 2 cups sugar. Add about one cup of apple juice and cook on low setting overnight. Stir and add more apple chunks to fill cooker. Add more sugar. ( I added only one cup ) Also add more spice, to taste. Cook another night. Mix well and add apple juice to make mix suitable for puree.
Use water bath method to can. I processed for ten minutes.
The time has come, the lizard said, to talk of many things...of carrots, beets and rainbow chard...of peas and beans and raptor wings...why the sand is burning hot and why Borrego sings!
WELCOME ...A new resident ? Love the desert? Gardening a passion? Live in Borrego Springs? Thought you could not have a garden in the low desert desert? Ever wonder what desert living is like? READ ON !
Raised Vegetable Beds
Palo Verde
A River Runs Through It
Saturday, June 9, 2012
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A New Borrego Garden Path
Pathway
It's a Boojum...
Boojum
Colorful Vine
Bees and Flowers
Citrus Blossoms
Ocotillo
Four Raised Beds, October
Desert Gardening
Desert gardening...what a pastime. Natives anxious to attack with thorns, stickers or burrs - earth always thirsty - critters always a step ahead of you - dainty moths turn into hungry caterpillars - coyote eats up part of the irrigation system - birds sample one fruit at a time - gopher pops up unexpected . Yet the first carrot, pea or tender piece of lettuce, the first lime or lemon of the season, the first cactus bloom , the first bright green mesquite sprig, the first bud on a plant...all give such a feeling of delight and satisfaction. Not to be traded for anything else! (JGP)
Super Addiction
When I started the blog, I thought a few words now and then would suffice...WRONG!
A strange pattern is emerging. Seems that guilt has stepped up to bat. Now, if I don't post every few days I FEEL THAT I HAVEN'T HAD MY FIX! I wonder if other bloggers have noticed this same phenomenom.
A strange pattern is emerging. Seems that guilt has stepped up to bat. Now, if I don't post every few days I FEEL THAT I HAVEN'T HAD MY FIX! I wonder if other bloggers have noticed this same phenomenom.
Beavertail
Borrego Dragon
The Borrego Dragon Fable
IN THE EARLY DAYS, coyote walked many paths. One day, as he was pursuing his travels, he came to a very wide valley. Others warned him as he approached the valley, " You must not enter this place...NO ONE who has entered has ever returned. It is a bad place, guarded by a giant dragon, who kills all who try to pass through. To continue your journey safely, we strongly advise you to go the long way...around this evil place." Well, coyote listened, for he was very smart and often heeded good advice. However, coyote was also lazy and was often prone to use shortcuts. He figured the valley would save him a lot of time on this particular journey. He looked carefully and saw nothing much to alarm him. He decided to enter and pass through the valley. At first, he noticed nothing amiss. However, as he traveled deeper into that still, quiet place, he thought to himself, "This IS an unusual valley, for sure...I see no movement of any type and I am getting to feel a bit strange about this place." He did notice, however, some tall straight trees which had lost all their leaves and made the place look barren, indeed. OH,NO...he also noticed, under the trees, piles of old BONES... and the more he looked, the more bones he saw. He said, " I sure see a lot of bones, but I don't see any dragon...I'll bet he no longer lives here." And, with that, he heard a thunderous voice which echoed over the valley..." HAH, COYOTE! You should have listened to the advice...You are in my mouth, which IS the entrance to the valley!" Oh,oh, caught in a trap. But coyote is smart and moves quickly...as he heard Dragon's first words, he raced to one of the dead trees and, with a mighty yank, pulled it from the earth. He wedged the tree between the Dragon's jaws and as he did this, many animals of all kinds came running forth...pumas, bears, mountain sheep and more...even the smallest animals, gnats, flies, tics, bees and more...lizards, snakes, toads, salamanders and more...all ran from the Dragon's depths to freedom. Coyote watched as Dragon's jaws closed upon the sharp tree stake. He soon died and from that time to this, many of those same animals live here, in this place...and from time to time, many of the old bones and pieces of the dead trees are found here, in this very valley!
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