Because it is the time of year to hurl myself enthusiastically into a fresh new season of cooking, plus also the time of year that my Washingtonian apple snobbery happily coexists with the apples actually available to me, I made roasted applesauce last night, inspired by the recipe in the latest Martha -- which is, I discovered near-identical to the recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance, except full of butter & brown sugar instead of maple syrup & canola oil.
Since I can't just follow simple directions, I chopped but did not peel the apples, tossed them with canola oil, a chunk of buttery stick, maple syrup, brown sugar, & cinnamon, then cooked them at 400F until they were like tiny little baked apples but not quite until they were mushy enough to sauce. I want to cook this every day, if only for the amazing smell. (I think these apples are dessert, not applesauce -- I like mine unsweetened -- but whatever they are, they're good enough that I had to go out last night & buy some vanilla ice cream to put under them. It was late enough that it was the hour of the young hipsters at the grocery store, & I felt a bit like I'd wandered into a foreign country, though that could have just been my disorientation at being in the store without being weighted down by giant cart + demanding children.)
Today, in between sneaking bites of cold apples from the fridge, I tried to get started on some crowns, but ended up using up most of my work time sitting in front of the computer with my daughter on my lap, sending a whole bunch of dorky Photobooth pictures of the two of us to my husband. Sometimes working from home is the best thing ever.
The applesauce sounds delicious. And I'm glad someone else feels strange when going out during the hipster hour. I feel down right crotchety.
Posted by: meg | October 17, 2007 at 01:39 PM
funny story: I found your blog via a google image search for "wonky log cabin" and your lovely pillows showed up (no idea where google got the idea they were wonky, because they're anything but!). So of course, I become completely taken with all of your lovely, lovely projects, quilting, homemade applesauce.... it all reminds me of how few hours there are in a day. Anyway, so I browse over to your glamscience site and I immediately recognize the fiber gift cards that I saw years ago and thought were so clever! I'm glad I've found your work again -- and a fellow Seattlite to boot! I'll be back, to be sure!
Posted by: froghair | October 18, 2007 at 02:06 PM