I am not sure how September flew by so fast, but somehow it is October already. The falling temperatures have come upon us fast, and I’ll miss our Indian summer! This month is super busy with multiple family birthdays, our anniversary, apple and pumpkin picking, and fall decorating.

A fun part of living in Skaneateles NY, are a large number of local farms and our farmers market that are at their peak harvest right now. Last weekend my son and I had a great time exploring the apple and pumpkin farms; I think we visited every farm in a 20-mile radius.

Our apple tour included Owens Orchard where they had the best deal on apples. We bought an 8-pound bag of mixed, but not particularly pretty apples for under $9.00. We also went to Beak & Skiff which is considered one of the top 10 orchards in the country. Congratulations -Beak & Skiff! We think Beak & Skiff makes the best apple fritters.

At the orchards, we always have a hard time deciding which apples to get. There are so many types of apples to choose from now. We tend to love Gala, but there are so many great varieties depending on what you are planning to do with them.

We are lucky enough to have two dwarf apple trees on our properties that are producing well. My husband is in charge of caring for the apple trees. This year I think he finally nailed it plus the weather cooperated making it agreat growing season for them. It wasn’t such a great season for cucumbers and that could be a blessing, or I still would be canning pickles.

At Teaselwood Farm, the most requested apple creation was named my son: “My Favorite Kind of Apple Sauce” . You can make the applesauce in small batches and save it in the refrigerator or large batches that are super for canning. I have even used a few apples that were not being eaten and made this. It is amazing with vanilla ice cream, it almost taste like apple pie filling.

My Favorite Kind of Applesauce

6 lbs. apples
2 cups of water
1 cup of local raw honey
¾ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Peel, core and cut up apples. I used a variety of apple types, which gives varying textures and tastes.

Put all the all apples and water in a stock pot and boil. When it starts boiling, turn it down to a simmer and cook 20 minutes or until the apples start breaking apart and becoming mush.

Turn to low, add honey, cinnamon and vanilla and stir together. You can vary the amounts of honey depending on how sweet you like your applesauce and the tartness of your apples. Once everything is mixed, you can take it off the burner.

We love to eat our apple sauce a bit warm from the stove and put it in a pretty bowl and enjoy. If you prefer to enjoy your applesauce though the winter you use a water bath to can it.