I still haven’t gotten around to processing those apples in my last post. The rush has been on to put the garden to bed before the big storm arrives tomorrow. The photo is from last year. Being a fabric nut, I have boxes of remnants to cut into circles for the tops of my jars. This one is tied off with a remnant of the streamers I use on many of my banners and such. The charming tag really polishes up the package. It is from my friend and fellow Etsian, Ellie. I’m going to do a post all about her soon, but in the meantime, I highly recommend following the link to see her gallery of playful and colorful paper works.

This year I am making special bags that can be reused later as travel bags, ditty bags, or passing along to someone new. I find that people really enjoy getting specialty food items as gifts, but I feel like I need to keep coming up with new presentations to avoid boredom. These and others are for sale on Etsy too.

Now about that title: I seem to remember a book with the title “Applesauce Loves Cinnamon”, but when an orchard overwhelms with fruit, a certain amount of experimentation is bound to occur. Here are the rough guidelines for my favorite experiment to date. Fill a large pot three quarters full with peeled, seeded and sliced fruit (I like half apples and half pears). Mince a good sized knob of ginger, and add with several whole cardamom pods and about 3/4 c of sugar (I like it on the tart side) (brown sugar gives a mellower finish). Boil until the fruit begins to break down, then mash and process.

Visit Wendy to gain access to others’ inspirations for using the bounty from the land.