Week 19

 Week 19
5/27/12

Eggs, 2 dozen 2.50
Walnuts, bulk 1.80
Tortillas, wheat, 24 3.99
Cottage cheese 1.79
Milk 1.99
Half and half 1.29
Sour cream .89
Cheddar cheese, 2 lb 5.99
Total 20.24

I went over by 5.24. Most of these items will last over a week - the eggs, walnuts, tortillas, sour cream and cheddar will last 2 weeks or longer. No meat this week. Not a big deal, I have some frozen beef and chili, and then I have eggs, cheese and cottage cheese. Plus, in my pantry, I have beans and rice to complete meals with fresh produce.

Look at this weeks co-op bounty!

 Orange Peppers

 Artichokes       

 Apple Butter!  

5 small peaches

6 bananas

5 Valencia oranges

3 orange peppers

14 small apples

3 artichokes

1 cantaloupe

1 Romaine lettuce

6 corn

4 tomatoes

4 carrots

Total 15.00

Fee 1.50

Wow! With the apples I had from last week and this week - it was Apple Butter Time! I absolutely love canning, the old fashioned way using a big pot of boiling water for a hot water bath. I love to open a cupboard and see jars of different sizes with homemade jams, sauces, whole beans and lots of other good stuff. These jars of apple butter, also, make great gifts - as will many other jars of homemade stuff. Special gifts for special people.

I got so excited about the apple butter, I didn't realize I didn't have anything to go with it...for me...right then and there. So at the end of it all, I made a quick Irish soda bread and had that with my dinner...slathered with you know what. Heaven...on...earth.

The picture above with the jars on the blue and white checked cloth looks a little quaint and homey...all in a days work. Turn the jars upside down to cool, a trick I learned from my step-mom, to get a better seal on the lid.

The recipe I used was from Ball. Their book on canning recipes - also, available online. I had 3.4 pounds apples, so I reduced the sugar to 3 cups and added a bit more cinnamon and cloves. The long part is peeling and coring, of course. But, worth every minute! And the house smelled AMAZING!

Here is the recipe I got from Ball's Blue Book of Preserving. I was going to just post the link, however, the on-line recipe is much different from the one in the book.

4 pounds apples, about 16 medium

4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Core, peel and quarter apples. Combine apples with 2 cups water in large saucepot. Simmer until apples are soft. Puree using a food mill or food processor (I used a blender, works just fine). Measure the apple pulp.

Combine apple pulp, sugar and spices in a large saucepot. Cook slowly until thick enough to round up on a spoon. As mixture thickens, stir to prevent sticking. Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Their online recipe adds brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg, along with lemon juice and pectin.

I would have used the brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg but not the lemon juice or pectin. Apples have plenty of their own pectin and I feel this is just a newly added selling point as I have never seen pectin added to apples. Apple butter certainly does not need a costly ingredient like pectin.

My own special ingredient that I really like to add to cinnamon and spice flavors is Angostura bitters. I don't cook it with the apple butter in the pot. I like to add it afterward, a few dashes per jar, mixed in to get the air bubbles out. If you're ever making Apple Pie, be sure to add a teaspoon - your apple pie will never be the same again!