Homegrown, Homemade, Home-Canned

I like to think of myself as hip and happenin'... however, I have a confession: I love to can my own fruits, jams, tomatoes and salsa. This year, I'm extending myself beyond what I normally do, and I'm going to be inventing some original (well, original to me anyway) vinegars, chutneys, and sauces.

I have a cold storage room in my basement with shelves in it. On those shelves, you will find the fruits of my labors (pun intended). There are peaches, rasberry and blackberry jams, and apple pie filling. By the end of next week, there will also be nectarine preserves, Amish sweet ketchup, some lusty tomato sauces, diced tomatos and salsa.

There's a fun story behind the apple pie filling. I went to buy apples from a fruit stand across the street from our town's high school. The nice man there told me his daughter-in-law had a recipe for apple pie filling that was very easy to bottle. So... thinking of a winter with apple crisps, apple bettys, apple cobblers and apple pies, I gladly accepted the recipe and bought a bushel of apples. (He's a sly one, you know... I had only stopped in for a bag of apples.)

Having the filling all ready to go makes for a quick dessert when unexpected company comes into town. Pour the bottle into a baking dish, mix up a topping for Apple Crisp and throw it in the oven. Served warm with a scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce... well, it's simply heaven on earth.

Apple Pie Filling (for canning)
4 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 drops yellow food coloring
enough peeled and sliced apples to fill 6 quart jars (I used a combination of Jonagold and Jonathan apples)

Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Heat 10 cups water to boiling; add sugar mixture and stir till dissolved. Then add the lemon juice and food coloring. Heat until thickened. Pour into 6 quart jars filled with peeled and sliced apples. Process jars in a water bath canner for 20 minutes.

Note: if you use an Apple Peeler/Slicer/Corer, getting the apples in the jars is a lot quicker and easier. Time was of the essence for me, so this is the route I chose. However, the slices will be a lot thinner than normal. If you prefer thicker slices, you'll have to do it by hand. Next year, I'll budget my time better and go for the thicker slices of apple.)

I did a whole bushel's worth. I was done in about 1 1/2 hours time. I ended up with a total of 20 quarts. (I did some pint jars as well to be used with smaller serving cobblers and crisps.) Over time, the liquid separates a bit in the bottles. But that's okay. When you use the filling, simply drain off the clear liquid before you put it in the pan or pie shell. We've used this for apple cobblers, apple crisps and an apple pie. They all turned out delicious. Can't wait for another winter evening with a fire in the fireplace and the smell of apple pie in the oven.