Apple Products & The Apocalypse

*Thwack*

Another apple falls on my head. 

The season is appropriately named.  

We have two very small trees, each just three years old, which have produced a grand total of approximately eight apples in their short existence.  Maybe down the road my future kids will be able to pick from these trees.

For now, I'll be thankful for neighbors who let me drive over whenever I'm out, hauling away bushel baskets of apples for free so long as I pick them myself.  

Before

If you're looking for "after" you won't find it because I got distracted convincing one of the guys in my family to help me carry it in the house.  I fully support "independent women who don't need no men" but I will also never turn free labor-I mean help-when I can get it.

This peeler is the best invention since the bread slicer.

It peels.  It cores.  It slices.  It's named as such.  It's a magical tool. 

We have two: one from my dad's grandma, one from my mom's grandma.

One works. One I misplaced.  Unfortunately, those are the same.

I found this spiffy, brand-new version of the same gadget in a thrift store.  I bought it because I understand its value.  The store selling it did not, but I didn't feel the need to explain.  

Future Apple Pies

I've been fascinated with canning since I made strawberry rhubarb jam for 4-H in sixth grade.  Now I make it to sell jam at the farmer's market.  At least three times this summer, well-intentioned adults asked me "did your mom make this"?  No, actually, because I, a millennial, not only know how to make food from scratch, but I enjoy doing so.

For the record, mom and I both processed the apples pictured above, Train's Save Me San Francisco album providing background music.  She probably helped me because I told her I'd do the rest of the steps if she'd run the Peeler-Corer-Slicer thingy.  I told you it was a magical tool.

I love canning.

You make food, you seal it in jars, you put it on shelves and use the contents when it suits you. 

It doesn't take up fridge or freezer space.  It's the ultimate in food prep.

If there's a zombie apocalypse in our future, guess who has three varieties of salsa in her pantry? That's correct, I do.  Even if there isn't an apocalypse, you can still have apple pie from your neighborhood orchard in March. 

That's reason enough for me.

 - Grace