roadside apples

On a recent road trip through Eastern Oregon we knew we’d be passing an old apple tree which we had picked from in the past, and hoped to pull over to pick again. We kept a look out, with clear memories of it’s location and the little donkey over the fence that we had shared apples with before.

Sure enough, the gnarled old tree stood right where we’d remembered, gleaming brilliant red in the otherwise neutral landscape, completely loaded with apples.

We didn’t see the donkey, but we did accidentally scare what seemed like hundreds of birds (which then scared us!) that had been nestled down in the tree eating fruit.

We picked until our cotton sack was full and then continued on the road. We’ve eaten a handful of them, but they’re pretty tart. Maybe it was just a little bit early for picking. So this week I finally decided to chop them up and put on a big pot of spiced apple sauce.

It made the whole house feel so cozy and autumnal. Oh my goodness, the smell!

I just added what seemed nice in the moment and adjusted to taste. Vanilla bean, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, a little sea salt. At the end I added a few spoons of honey.

It is like apple pie in a jar! Next time I’ll try a different apple variety. Anyone have a favorite apple variety, or mix of varieties, for applesauce?