It’s easing into autumn now, so I’m focused on those delightful foods that you can get in this season. The apple and pear trees are bearing fruit. Although the peach trees are just a few weeks past their harvest time, there are still plenty of peaches available for canning or to make into other tasty treats.
In the past week, I made applesauce, pear applesauce, and peach pear sauce. This was my first time making peach pear sauce. I decided that I’m going to make more of that. It’s a wonderful combination of flavors.
With all of my fruit sauces, I slice the fruit and put it in a pot to boil in apple cider. The cider gives it a nice flavor and some sweetness. It makes it possible for me not to add sugar to my fruit sauces. In the past few years, I have discovered that I like my sauces to taste like the fruits, not like whatever spice or sweetener I might add to it. I had been thinking about that since I had a conversation with a friend. She said that she really liked to add lots of cinnamon and sugar to her applesauce. My mom liked to add lots of lemon juice. I always liked that but I still decided to experiment with my recipe. Like my mom, I add a mix of apple varieties to my applesauce, which includes both sweet and tart apples. Who knows? Maybe I will experiment more and find some other ways to make these sauces.
I missed the rhubarb season this year but, next year, I will make apple rhubarb sauce. That is something for spring, and it’s delicious.
And now, let’s talk about soup season! Oh, how I love soup! My mom always made the most wonderful soups, and she helped me learn the joy of homemade soups for the cooler days ahead? I was able to obtain leftover chicken from St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church’s chicken barbecue that was held on September 12th. With that chicken, I made a bone broth. I’ve also used premade rotisserie chickens, as well as soup chickens. I put the chicken in a medium or large stockpot and then add random leftover vegetables. I also add bay leaves and some herbs. My mom taught me some valuable things about chicken broth. She said not to add salt because, when the soup cooks over about four or five hours, the flavors intensify. If you have added salt to your broth, you may find it to be unpleasantly salty. My mom said, if that happens, you should add a few potatoes to the pot of broth. It will absorb salt. It won’t be the magical cure, so it’s also helpful to dilute the soup a bit with water.
Anyway, my mom was a very gifted soupmaker, and her soups were never too salty, so who knows if she ever actually tested out the potato in the pot teory.
The above soup was the first one from this batch of broth. It’s a chicken vegetable soup. I chopped up a variety of vegetables, including green onions, bok choy, potatoes, cauliflower, and green onions. I also added some shredded chicken and my soup was set. One of the best parts of a soup like this is that it will never be the same twice. You can use any leftover vegetable in your soup, and so, even if you make lots of chicken vegetable soup, you shouldn’t have to worry about boredom.
Within the next few days, I’m planning on making tomato soup. I’ll share pictures when it’s made.
Healthy food can be happy food. Enjoy your culinary adventures!
Hi Alice! This post is making my mouth water and crave some nice broth to soften my crunchy kibbles. The apple cider trick sounds interesting. My mom uses a smidgen of coconut sugar or maple syrup to sweeten her creations. Except for the pure rhubarb spread. My grandma used plain old sugar and that’s one recipe my mom won’t mess with. Thanks for a yummy post!
Mmmm, the coconut sugar and maple syrup do sound good. If something is too tart, I will add some honey or maple syrup or maple sugar. There are so many great choice.