A Bit O' Better Butter

Autumn day, autumn day, God gives richest gifts today.

When we were visiting the Maryland Marshalls last month, Ariel whipped up some apple butter overnight, quick as a winkie, using her crockpot. It was delicious! Inspired, I came home and invented an apple butter recipe for our new Blendtec. This one smells a bit like Christmas because of the orange and spices, but the orange is hard to identify in the finished product. I think it just gives a little brighter, more complex flavor. You would never know that the apples are not peeled. Thanks for the idea, Bubby!

Autumn Apple Butter

4 lbs. assorted farmers market apples, seeded and quartered.
1 T orange zest
1 T cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t ginger
1/4 c fresh orange juice
1/3 c honey

Combine the above in a lightly oiled crockpot and set on low for 10 hours.

When the apples are very tender, process on the soups setting in a Blendtec blender. Store in jars in the refrigerator or freezer. I think the yield is about 6+ cups, if I remember correctly.

It would be very easy to bottle this, I'm sure. The apple butter was boiling after having been processed on the soups setting from being in the crockpot just earlier. I think that next time I'll experiment with less honey, the flavor is so rich.

Attached are a few photos mostly yet unpublished of our happy trip to the Marshalls. For more, see andrewandariel.blogspot.com.

We love you, A Team.

Andrew learned that I hadn't had dinner and had a veggie burrito and egg waiting for me when I arrived at 2522 Forest Glen Road. What a kind host!
The A Team looking at their first bill for the new house. Andrew regretted that it had the word "sewer" in it.
Benjamin wasn't sure what to do with the grandma from TV (or Google chat) in his living room the next morning.
He is such a beautiful boy.
At Cabin John Park, Abe and Porky had a little talk, just as Abe's mother and Porky did a generation ago. Porky has an endless (at least 23 years old) appetite for trash, and always wants to talk about it.

We begin to tackle "The Ugly Room".
Pals at Butler Orchard.

I miss my boys. And my girl.

Our Sweetie in Sweden

Hi Everyone,

I just got of the phone from talking with a very vibrant Laurel in Sweden. She says:

They're staying in a cabin on a lake
It doesn't get very dark at night, so it's hard to want to sleep
They swim and boat; the water is cold, but she likes it
Today they traveled in canoes to another lake through a canal and explored an abandoned cabin on a little island
Yesterday Bengt and Lloyd saw a wild boar. The kids heard it
She is eating (and liking) lots of fish and meatballs and especially liking ice cream from Gränna, nearby
She loves elderberry juice (which they have at Ikea) and pear juice.
They have given our little gifts to Bengt's mom (who is not with them)
They have seen shore birds, including sandhill cranes
She is learning a little Swedish
And trying to help out with everyone
And writing in her journal
The big city nearby is Jönköping, where there is a mall.
Saturday they will go on an overnight ferry to the island of Gotland

At age 15 and a half, she is living in a northern dream she will always look back on with fondness.

Above are photos of Gränna, famous for its striped candy called "polkagris."