Lemon Ginger Applesauce

Tom's apple tree is glorious in appearance and in bounty!  This single tree yielded a bushel of apples.  Yes, they have a bit of a scaly looking peel, and don't look nearly as perfect as the ones in the local market, but the taste far surpasses anything I could purchase.  And I am confident that no pesticides have been sprayed on the apples. So last weekend midst the snow flurries and gale winds of 49 mph, Tom harvested the rest of the apples that he hadn't harvested earlier in the week.  

So, if you have been wondering why there haven't been any new posts lately, take a look at the photo below of my kitchen table filled with garden produce and you can imagine what I have been doing - peeling apples, making applesauce, roasting or stewing tomatoes, making kale and Swiss chard soups, dicing leeks and onions, cutting and roasting squash, labeling and freezing containers to pull out in the middle of the winter. 

Do you see the giant squash at the back left corner of the table? Expect to see that pink banana winter squash again soon on this blog, as well as another mutant squash child that Tom raised.  Unfortunately, something ate the blossoms of many of the winter squash, so we didn't get as much as usual so bought some other winter squash at the Duluth Farmers Market last week.  The butternut squash in the photo is one we purchased there.  

Garden produce 

I made lemon-ginger applesauce last year, adapting an idea I had seen in a magazine.  I loved taking it out of the freezer in the middle of winter and savoring the splendors of fall once again, and determined that I would certainly make it again this year. I peeled and shredded the apples to create a uniformly cooked sauce.  The addition of lemon-ginger tea-infused water to the applesauce eliminated the need for any other type of sweetener.  Definite Pzazz!

Ingredients:
4 cups shredded apples (peeled first)
3/4 cup boiling water
2 - 3 lemon-ginger tea bags (I used Stash brand)

Preparation:
Steep the lemon-ginger tea in the boiling water.  Put the lemon-ginger tea water and the shredded apples into a sauce pan and cook over low heat until the apples are entirely soft.  You may need to add a bit more water as the apples cook to ensure they don't stick to the bottom of the pan, or if you like a thinner consistency. This applesauce freezes incredibly well and is delightful if warmed to eat it in the middle of the winter!

Nutrition:
Servings per recipe: 4
Serving Size: 1/2 cup                              
Calories: 65
Total Fat: 0 g                                            
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 0  mg
Total Carbs: 17 g
Dietary Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 0 g