Making Applesauce Is Like Dealing With People

It is Saturday and it is quiet in my house. This is unusual. As a result I have spent a good portion of the day binge watching Once Upon A Time. Thank you Netflix and Roku.
After my long, hard day of watching TV,  I remembered I had apples still sitting on my counter waiting for me to make applesauce. The munchies got me up to work. A friend told me how easy applesauce is to do homemade and she was right. Thank you Melissa K.

Recipe:
15 medium apples, peeled, cored, and cut - I used Gala apples
2/3 cup water - I added a little extra because my crock-pot cooks a little hot
1/2 cup brown sugar
I also added about a teaspoon of cinnamon

That's it. Put it all in a crock-pot on low and let it cook about 6 hours. To be honest mine only took about 4 1/2 hours because like I said my crock-pot cooks a little hot. I also stirred mine regularly but that is because I just couldn't stop messing with it.

When it's all done just use that handy dandy tool pictured below to mash it all up. The apples were so tender they mashed easily.  If you want it smoother you could use an electric beater. 

I did not even wait for it to cool off before I made a bowl for myself. And let me tell you, this was delicious!!!

There you have it: homemade applesauce. See, sometimes there is cooking here. 

In trying to think of some life lesson or words of wisdom to go with this recipe, I realized that the process I used for this applesauce is a lot like the one I use for dealing with people who come to me for help with life's stuff. First you must cut the apples apart (find out what is going on inside), remove the core, skins, and seeds (help remove that which is not helpful, useful and possibly harmful), put the prepared apple pieces back together (keep and encourage what is good), add a little sugar and spice (love and wise words), add some heat (endurance and patience while things get worked out), take a masher to it all (discipline and restructuring), and serve it up for all to enjoy (at last freedom, joy, peace, wholeness). For some I have had the pleasure of having in my life this has been a short process, for some a long one, and for others a repeated one. Nonetheless I love those who have sat with me, often at my kitchen island, and poured out their hearts while I attempted to help make their lives into something beautiful and delicious. The funny thing is, the beauty is in the apples as well as in the people. Most of what they need is already there. I simply help to bring its potential to reality.  

By the way it is not Saturday anymore. It is now 1:00 am on Sunday. Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour. FALL BACK :)

*Note:this post used to have pictures but in making some adjustments to things I lost all my pictures and I cannot find them - oh well - that's life in a digital age. :)