Apples, apples

Yesterday was a busy apple day at our house.  I picked a big Trader Joe's bag of apples from our Lodi tree around 6 AM and got them cut and cooked before leaving the house at 9 AM.  Owen and Robbie had arrived to help on the porch roof project by the time I was cooking the apples.

After a day of errands and appointments I arrived home around 3 PM and went immediately to stretch out for a little while.  Soon Bob needed me to go to Fairlee to pick up a quick clamp or something like that, which I did find.  It was good he told me it was blue!  I picked up two orange C-clamps for my own schemes while I was there.

After supper (fresh delicious sweet corn on the cob from Killdeer stand--plus some leftovers) I set up the Victoria strainer to make the applesauce.  The first go-around I had put the plastic guard on incorrectly and applesauce dripped everywhere...which I partly alleviated by putting a black plastic garbage bag under the collection bucket...but then realized my error, fixed it, and then the applesauce just slid into the bucket happily.

Bob kindly cranked for a little while before going back to the porch roof/lawn watering projects.  In the end there were twelve quarts of applesauce, very lightly sugared, ready for the freezer.  And I was totally ready for bed!

Here is the applesauce project set-up...making applesauce in a construction zone has its drawbacks, but it does work.  Notice the nice orange C-clamp.  There are two of them holding the sturdier board to the wimpy board.  There was a bit of bounce as we cranked, but all is well that ends well.

Ready for the freezer.  Now to make space in the freezer...!