One of the daunting aspects of preserving food is the sheer volume of food you are dealing with. I bought every local apple I could get my hands on and "stored" them in the fridge until they could go no longer. It was time to make the applesauce. The time required to peel and core and slice that many apples was just not showing up in my calendar. And then I saw it. The gadget. Yes, a unitasker. But what a beauty. Straight out of 1800s. This handy little thing locks down to the counter and zipped through the apples in ten minutes. No cord required, no batteries. Just pure hand-crank bliss. The applesauce was pretty darn good, too.
Cinnamon-Vanilla Applesauce
12 gala apples, or enough to get 5 cups of peeled, cored slices
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out with the back of a knife
2 Ceylon Cinnamon sticks (or use regular cinnamon sticks)
3/4 cup 100% apple juice or no-sugar added cider
1 tbs. Lemon juice
Put all of this in a pot, especially all the vanilla seeds and the pods. Simmer on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes. Taste, and adjust with sugar if you have to for desired sweetness. I usually don't have to depending on my apples. Remove vanilla pod and cinnamon sticks. Mash with a potato masher to desired consistency. Tastes best cool the next day. Freezes well.
