Applesauce Bread

My mom is on a fixed income and not only is she taking care of herself, she is also taking care of her 6 year old grandson (it's a don't ask, don't tell family situation).  Lucky for her we live in a wonderful community with even more wonderful people who keep an eye out for each other.  Mom gets the occasional meal, fresh fruits and vegetables and canned goods.

Today I want to write about her abundance of canned applesauce.  No one in my family likes applesauce  and even if you do appreciate it, there's only so much you can eat before you get bored with it.

I searched for a recipe that included ingredients I already had in my kitchen AND mom's surplus of canned applesauce.  I found this recipe for Spiced Applesauce Bread and it was a huge hit!

No one is complaining about eating the applesauce now

Applesauce Bread

Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes Servings: 12

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 eggs 3 tablespoons milk 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2.	In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, sugar, oil, eggs and milk; beat well. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt; stir until smooth. Fold in the pecans. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3.	Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean.

"The great challenge of adulthood is holding on to your idealism after you lose your innocence."

– Bruce Springsteen

First Strawberry Bloomed

Okay so I'm a city girl. The only time I spent on a farm was when I visited my Grandparents.  They had some chickens, pigs and worms.  Yep, worms.  My Grandpa had a very lucrative worm farm and I helped him dig worms out of the bedding; a wonderful and aromatic mixture of aged poo and sawdust I believe.  I'm not sure about the sawdust but I'm very sure of the poo part though.

They also had gardens.  Huge gardens where they grew corn, peas, beans, okra, tomatoes, watermelons and even peanuts.  I loved working in the garden when I was a kid.  I think that was because I was close to the ground and getting dirty; the exact reasons I have such a hard time with it now.

I'm now 43 with kids of my own.  I have a bad back and a love of food (meaning I'm pleasantly plump...meaning fat).  It's extremely hard to get down and dirty in my vegetable garden.  That doesn't keep me from trying though.  I want to be able to grow vegetables.  I want to be able to provide for my family using this long, lost art which most of us just have no clue about.

So we're digging up the earth in small section of the yard.  We plan on planting corn, melons, lettuce, and potatoes.  We have some tomatoes and peppers started in a Topsy Turvy and Strawberries and Raspberries in containers.

Today our first strawberry bloomed and we're excited! My little family and I just can't wait to eat something we've grown ourselves and to learn to make sauces and jellies.
And who knows?  Maybe working in the garden will help me trade my love of food for a love of growing food.