Apples

I have seen so many recipes, especially in historical books here, about blackberry and apple recipes. I wondered why they were always paired together, because it doesn't seem like the most obvious textural or taste combination to me. Well, now I know. We have blackberries and apples ripening simultaneously all around us!

We don't have any apple trees in our yard, but there are lots of apple and crab apple trees growing on common land in our village. Even better, some neighbors who have carefully cultivated trees have been leaving out big buckets full of free apples for people to share. We have processed so many apples over the past few weeks. I really want an apple orchard! But for now I'll content myself with the pounds and pounds of apples we pick and gather.

Blackberry-apple pie filling...


Rows of apples waiting to be peeled and chopped, with a surprise head in the foreground:


 More apples. These are not from the same batch as the one above. We've had SO many apples!


More apple-blackberry pie.



Apple sauce just processed in the slow cooker. This is my favorite way to make easy sugar-free applesauce. It's so yummy. I have a bunch of batches in the freezer. If I were more organized, I'd can it.


Eating freshly cooked applesauce.


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