The Applesauce Tradition

Piles of apple cores. The smell of cooking apples. The moist sweet-smelling steam of apples simmering. The sticky foodmill.

Simple things with powerful memories.

As a child, throughout my childhood, we made applesauce as a family. We all picked the apples. We all washed and cut the apples. Mom stirred the apples on the stove. Dad cranked (and cranked and cranked and cranked) the food mill. And, for months and months to come we ate the perfectly, naturally sweet and pink (from the peels) applesauce that we stored in our freezer.

Making applesauce is a tradition that I proudly carry on.

This past weekend, my eldest daughter and I set to work to turn 40 lbs of apples into deliciousness. She jumped right in. Grabbed her apron. Washed her hands. Said enthusiastically, "what's my job?"

For the next few hours we talked and took turns cutting apples, stirring the pot, and running the cooked apples through the hand cranked food mill. Half-way through the process she turned to me and said with a huge happy sigh, "I love the smell of apple steam." She's my girl, for sure.

Baby R (when do you think I should stop calling her a baby?) woke up as the first big batch was ready. I put her in her chair and handed her bowl. As if she knew what was coming, she started chanting, "Yum, yum, yum."

Suffice it to say, she liked it.

I Got Stung

Don't worry -- I didn't get stung by a bumble bee, I got stung by Green Bee's Lemon Sting soda.

I'm actually not much of a soda drinker. If I want bubbles, I tend to turn to things like seltzer, beer or prosecco.

But, today I was feeling "off" and while in the local natural market and this label (I am such a sucker for labels) caught my eye. Part of it was the pretty label -- and part of it is what the label said -- "Made in Maine. Local honey."

Well, it didn't cure what ails me this afternoon, BUT, it totally hit the spot. Totally light and refreshing. Turns out this soda is handcrafted in the next town over, Brunswick, Maine. So far the company has the one flavor, Lemon Sting which is made with just four ingredients (gotta love that!), including local honey. Rumor has it more flavors might be in the works. The soda is handcrafted and bottled by Christopher Kinkade at his wife's catering copy, Belle Fete. The soda can be found in 12-oz bottles at natural food stores and gourmet shops across the state.

Hat's off to  you Mr. Kinkade -- this is good stuff.