When life hands you apples, make applesauce before they rot

Every fall, I buy apples from a local orchard and keep them in the garage. This year I also bought some at a farmers market. The other day, I noticed that the latter were leaking - a puddle had formed beneath their crate. So last night, at 7PM, I decided it was a good time to process them.

I have no idea what kind of apples they are; in fact, I barely remember buying them. The fact they were in a plastic crate instead of a bag clued me in that they were not from my usual source. About a third of them were too rotten to use, so they went to the birds and any other backyard wildlife that might like them. The rest made more than a potful, which meant cooking them down in stages. I did this slowly, to prevent scorching, and worked a jigsaw puzzle for the duration. Finally, near 10 PM, they were ready for the sauce maker.

I don't sweeten or flavor my applesauce. This batch is mild and tasty. My original plan was to process them in a water bath, but since it was so late, I just froze ten pints and put the rest in the refrigerator to enjoy this week.

How do you like my fancy labels?

There are more apples in the garage, but they seem to be holding their own, so I will continue to use them for baking. Since the xmas cheesecake was such a disaster, I think I deserve a pie.