More to come....

Just a quick update to whats been happen:
1. Goshen College womens soccer season ended with a sad loss and final record of: 5-11-1.
2. I recently began another class: weight lifting for women. Disregarding to how the title may make you smile... you don't want to mess with these women while they have weights :)
3. Gnats. I have fungal gnats. They have infested our whole apartment. Let me just say: I have learned a few things about these new roommates:
- One gnat can lay up to 300 eggs. THATS 300 gnats!!
- They are attracted to rotting or organic matter. i.e. fruit on the table and plant soil.
- They live up to 7 - 10 days
- They are attracted to light. This includes computer screens. They also have this odd attraction for flying up noses (a fact from roommates person experiences)
- They don't like: sand, cinnamon, disinfectant, and my person and most successful killer... rubbing alcohol.
However with all this knowledge. They are still non paying roommate, which will have to go. I'm determined to kill them without insecticide. Currently the population is down 70 % but don't forget 300 eggs a day... who knows what will happen in a day or two!

The Wonders of Apples

My first attempt of applesauce making turned out as not only a failure but also an embarrassment. With a craving for delicious applesauce I set out to create my own concoction and concoction was exactly what it was. Starting off on the right foot, I washed, cored and sliced the apples. I even had the right additives, classic sugar and cinnamon. However, when it became time to enter the ‘process’… with a cleaver grin on my face, I threw every apple slice in the glass vase and with the press of “purée,” the blender was creating applesauce. I thought, how great! That was, until the image of grandma’s applesauce didn’t compare to my so-called applesauce. Before me was a bowl of brown tinted, crunchy apple chucks covered in granules of sugar and spice.

Sadly, I must admit my applesauce was no juvenile attempt but that of a home economics accomplishing, chemistry passing high school student. I would have hoped the combination of those classes would’ve brought me some common sense of the composition of applesauce, but it failed. Thankfully, I can proudly say I have now become a master of the applesauce art.

Since applesauce is a rather simple process, the outcome taste comes down to personal preference of the consumer. There are a variety of options of texture and taste.

To begin: understanding the process. First apples must but washed, cored and sliced. Transferred the apples into a pot, adding enough water so the apples don’t burn: cover and boil on high heat until apples are ‘mushy,’ roughly 20 minutes. After the apples are cooked the consumer gets to decide what texture of applesauce they want.
- Chunky: (when cutting apples, also remove the skin) once cooked, using a potato masher, smash the apples until reaching a desired consistency. The potato masher will allow for some small ‘chunks’ to remain in the applesauce.
- Medium Chunky / Smooth – once cooked put the apples in a food strainer, this can be a traditional Victorian strainer, a hand strainer or even an electric mixer strainer. The results will be thinner and smoother.Next is the yum factor: taste. Taste depends on what apples you are working from.

Here are recommended apples for applesauce: Gala, Honeycrisp, Jonathan, Golden Delicious, Jonalicious, Jonagold, Melrose and Fuji. After apples are strained, stir in whatever sweeteners and spices (common: cinnamon, red hots or ginger) your pallet desires.

For me, applesauce is a taste of home, a taste of grandmas cooking, a taste of comfort. Now that you know the keys behind the wonders of applesauce, give it a try and enjoy the scrumptious taste that lingers in childhood memories.