Day 29 - No coincidences

Ever notice how, sometimes in life, things just works out? Even if it's just the little things...

So, after last Friday's spaghetti sauce drama, Craig, Sydney and I decided it was time for our annual apple picking tradition at a local orchard on Saturday. It's a fabulous way to spend an autumn day, and I just LOVE making and sharing the homemade applesauce, as well as other treats, that result.

We picked 40 lbs of apples - everything from big-as-my-head Mutsus to some other more obscure little golden beauties, and even golden delicious.

Then, we realized, this particular orchard also had fields and fields of broccoli and tomatoes for the picking.

Sydney was curious about the broccoli - "What does broccoli look like before it gets to the store?" she wondered. She loved chopping off the ginormous heads with Craig's pocket knife as I tossed them to him and he patiently held the bundles in his arms like bouquets of strange, green flowers.

And then it was time for the tomatoes. TOMATOES!!!!!! Many of my friends have endured my stories of lament regarding home-grown tomatoes and how desperately I miss them since moving to MD two years ago. When we lived in PA, we could pretty much grow a veritable tomato crop from a few carelessly thrown seeds and some wishful thinking. Here in MD, not so much! So, I have not had really good, fruit-of-the-sun, wonder-bread-sandwich type tomatoes in a couple years.

On Saturday, I saw the field of dark green plants ornamented with these beautiful baseball and softball-sized balls of deep-red glory. And the heavens opened up, and the angels sang! Real, fresh, RIPE, deep red tomatoes! I could have kissed these beauties.

Ah, it's the simple things in life!

So, I voraciously picked what had to be 40 lbs of tomatoes. And as I did, the irony of the previous day's blog was not lost on me. Just 24 hours ago, I had stood in a grocery store pining for jarred spaghetti sauce. If not for this project, I would have mindlessly bought it and gone on my merry way.

The very next day, I get the surprise opportunity to pick these beautiful tomatoes and ultimately create what has since turned out to be a giant batch of homemade from scratch spaghetti sauce (complete with ground beef and bulgur wheat, of course!). And the difference is that the homemade sauce was slowly infused with love as it simmered away on the stove all day. The jarred sauce would have been meaningless.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am sufficiently self-aware to know that food does not equal love. This is NOT the "Here! I know you're watching your diet but please have more cake!" scenario.

The love is in the creation. Taking the time, energy and care to make something from nothing to nourish those you love. The joy is in the preparation, much like the journey is often as rewarding as the destination.

All of these things: true. And a lesson I would have missed if not for this project.

P.S. I did have to buy 5 cans of tomato paste to make the sauce, a clear violation of the rules of this project. But sometimes in life, one must adapt.

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The best, easiest APPLESAUCE:
Peel, core and roughly chop enough apples to fill your crock pot. Add a little water (1/2 c or less, depending on size of your crock pot). Put the lid on and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If you like chunkier applesauce, stir vigorously with wooden spoon and you're done. Otherwise, whir with an the immersion blender for less chunky (or process in regular blender in batches).

OPTIONAL:
-Stir in a little sugar, cinnamon to taste.
-Make peach amaretto applesauce: add lg. handful of frozen peaches and a couple drops of almond extract during last 1/2 hour of cooking. Whir when peaches are thawed.
-Strawberry applesauce: add lg. handful of strawberries and couple drops of strawberry extract during last 1/2 hour of cooking. Whir when strawberries are thawed.

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WW 2 PT BROCCOLI CHEESE SOUP
10 servings

42 oz. f/f chicken broth
2 lb broccoli (could reduce this - the soup is VERY broccoli-y)
minced garlic to taste
1 medium onion, diced
10 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes
10 oz. Velveeta reduced fat, cubed

-Combine broth, broccoli, garlic, onion in soup pot. Bring to boil and simmer 25 mins until veggies are soft.
-Add tomatoes and whir with immersion blender, leaving chunks of veggies to suit your preference.
-Add cubed Velveeta, stirring to melt.

Yum!