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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Apple Butter or Apple Pie?


36 apples for $2

Today, there were a only a dozen free apples at the market for the hens. I took them. Not the ones above. He mentioned the box was for apple butter and $2/box. Cheap! Frugal eating! I snapped them up. Now, I realize I have to do something with them...lol. I really like nice crispy dehydrated apples. An apple pie would be nice. I don't really want apple butter.

There are a few hours before I have to make this decision before the bruises develop into a more serious problem and I lost more of these.

My pie I make for myself is just pie filling--apples, sugar, cinnamon, and flour. None of this is ever measured. There will be no crust. I don't need the crust and no one will be judging my pie-making skills.

One thing I do for myself and no one else--I don't peel the apples. It gives me more fiber and pectin and maybe not too much pesticide. Also, instead of apples slices, I make chunks of each slice so the apple peel will not be in huge pieces.

Maybe a half dozen of these will be saved for eating. Exbf  (still) will be glad to take them.


Getting these cheaply was thrilling. I figure there is probably $8 worth of apples, at least.
They are all crispy except for the bruises on the apples. Understand, these are fresh and edible, just mishandled. None are old and soft.

Your turn
Do you ever buy apples past their prime? What do you make with them? Have you ever  made just the apple filling and eaten it with no crust? 


16 comments:

  1. I usually make chunky applesauce with just a bit of sugar (to taste) and a lot of cinnamon. Very little liquid as we like it a bit thicker. I then put it in pint canning jars (leaving space for expansion) and put in the freezer. We love it!

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  2. Hubby cooks just like that...no measuring. I'm not brave enough on something like a pie. learned that the hard way!

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  3. Kathy,
    That sounds really delicious. I might try that.

    Dmarie,
    I think pie filling is the easiest thing to NOT measure. Never can I remember a problem doing so. Now that I have made that bold statement, my next pie will probably be a total failure...lol.

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  4. PracticalP - sorry i haven't stopped in for a while but i have been unable to leave comments?!?!?! and now today - your page and the comment section is taking forever to load?!?!?!? gonna ask jambaloney to figure it out.

    anyway - i save and use all of our fruits whether blemished or bruised. and you got those apples at a steal - good job!

    your friend,
    kymber

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  5. Good score on those apples ! I would just make apple sauce with them. When I lived in Scotland I used to go to the wholesale market and one of the guys used to sell me apples and boxes of cherries for a song. Took the cherries straight home and make jam.

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  6. kymber,
    Some days I have trouble getting certain blogs to load. I try not to waste anything. Even soft apples are okay when cooked.

    Lizzie,
    Today, I still have done nothing with them, Applesauce sound good! Cherries are so expensive here that I savor them whole, a few at a time when I can afford them. I need to go to the wholesale market, but it is too far away unless I buy a boatload of produce. Lucky you in Scotland.

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  7. I think you could do both pie and apple butter with the number of apples you have there. YUM.

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  8. I just dry them. Sometimes sprinkle sugar and cinnamon on them first. We rehydrate them for apple crisp or add to oatmeal, etc.

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  9. Pamela,
    I thought I replied to your comment. I think you are right about doing both. That may be the thing to do since I cannot decide.

    LindaM,
    Sugar and cinnamon are something I have not tried because I don't want to get a mess in the dehydrator. Maybe I throw caution to the wind! Do you just put them in the oatmeal to rehydrate there?

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  10. Linda
    I put the apples in the oatmeal to rehydrate there-after cooking. I like them on the crisp side.
    Put the cinnamon and sugar on in a bowl first, toss and then on the trays. It should be less messy that way.

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  11. LindaM,
    Using a bowl would be easier than sprinkling cinnamon and sugar when the apples are on the drying trays! I have never had apples in my oats.

    When my son was 18-months-old, he would devour a bowl of oats with unsweetened applesauce and a mashed egg yolk. There was no sugar and no butter in the bowl, so I figured it was nutritious for him. It was 1 cup cooked oats + 1 cup applesauce + 1 mashed egg yolk. People thought I was mean not to give him sugar. So, I suppose apple in oats is not too foreign to me.

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  12. That sounds good to me! I'd eat your sons breakfast! What I usually do is use chopped nuts, some apples and raisins with a dash of cinnamon The fruit is enough sugar for my taste.

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    Replies
    1. We eat our oatmeal like this as well. We also use peaches when available.

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  13. LindaM and Kathy,
    I think my problem is that how I ate oatmeal as a child is my standard for oatmeal. We just had butter and sugar with a bit of milk in it. We did put raisins sometimes. So, those are the only ways I want my oatmeal. Maybe I should be adventurous...lol. I did cut back on things like fried foods. Added some foods and eliminated others. Maybe I just want my oats as comfort food and familiar.

    Intellectually, this all sounds good, but the child in me wants my oats plainer.

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  14. Linda
    That is how I grew up eating oatmeal. I love it like that still. But I compromised and turned that way into dessert as a treat and the other way as a breakfast. Maybe that can work for you?

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  15. LindaM,
    I am not going to eat it twice in one day. It would just seem wrong to eat it with anything else. Usually, I have it once a day and no more, so that would mean oats twice in one day. I don't even want to experiment because I have other ways I enjoy nuts and fruits every day.
    Just stubborn,
    Linda

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.