Applesauce and other things

On Sunday, I made applesauce.

It's such a no-brainer for me.  Peel the apples, slice and core them.  Or do it all at the same time with one of these nifty gadgets (That's the same brand I own and use).  Fill a heavy pot to the top with apples.  Add about 2 cups of water.  Put the lid on.  Bring to a boil and then turn the heat very low.  Simmer until the cook down, stirring occasionally.  For a big batch like this, it was about 3 hours.  A small batch - 4 or 5 apples and 1/2 c water - takes maybe 1/2 hour.  I don't add sugar or cinnamon, but you could.  Easy enough.

I portioned this batch into a few freezer bags, laid them flat on a cookie tray, and froze them.  Each bag holds enough for a family meal with a little leftover for my oatmeal the next day.  When it's time to eat it, defrost in the refrigerator or on the countertop.  Or just pop the frozen sauce in a pot and reheat over low heat. Even easier.

Also, this post of Molly's is really lovely.

I'm working on a shop update for late next week. Thursday, I think. Camera straps and more.

Jane thinks she is going to sew her own Halloween costume. I'd better get on that.

I've been tapped to be in charge of the school auction children's art projects.  I have some ideas, but am looking for some others.  Our school is kindergarten through eighth grade and I especially need projects for the littlest (K, 1st) and biggest (7th, 8th).  If you have one to share, I'd love to hear about it.

Happy Tuesday.

 

Comments

[aimee]

We have problems at our school coming up with good projects for the littlest ones, so I will not be much help there. That said, this year we will try to take pictures of the kindergardeners making all the letters of the alphabet and have it printed out as a collage Popular projects for the older classes (4th and 5th at our school) is to have each child draw a picture of important landmarks around town and have them nicely matted into a large collage. The other favorite one is to have the kids bring in little trinkets and make a mirror mosaic with them.

[melissa]

my peeler/corer always takes off too much of the flesh with the skin. I've started just cutting the apples into hunks and leaving the skin on when I can get good local non-sprayed apples. Hoping I still have time to go and pick!

[Andrea]

Last year (inspired by your auction quilts from Feb 2009) I made 2 quilts to raise money for Haiti. Instead of the lovely pictures you had the children make, I had the children make handprints in fabric paint. The handprints are (fairly) easy, as long as you can supervise them closely when they put their hands down on the fabric...I found that painting their hands with a sponge brush helped with the fabric paint application. I did this with nursery school kids (aged 2.5 to 4), so you might find it a little easier with the grade 1s and 2s.
(We raised $500 which has gone towards building a new school by the way)

[AJ]

The applesauce sounds delicious. I think I broke my apple peeler and I've gotten so lazy when it comes to peeling and slicing. But it sounds like the perfect time to start a batch of apple butter!

[Jennie]

Last year at our preschool, each classroom painted and decorated two children's sized unfinished adirondack chairs. Most of the decoration was fingerprint animals/flowers/insects a la Ed Emberley and each child signed his or her name beside their fingerprint creation. They turned out really cute, and were a lot less work for parents than making a quilt or similar craft intensive item.

[EmmmyLizzzy]

That's how I make mine as well - but I like to cut and peel by hand. Something really meditative about the process. And I like to leave really big chunks of apple in my applesauce. And lots of cinnamon!

[Nichole]

I love this idea~

http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/2008/07/kid-friendly-batik.html
(I even got all the supplies to do it with my girls, but haven't done it yet).
The batik effect is so pretty and so child doable with this method.

[leslie]

libby came home from school today and told me that the after school snack she is craving is warm applesauce! love that.. and how perfect that you reminded me how to make it! xx

[Kim M.]

I just signed on to help with my kids school auction too. Ours isn't until February but I have been looking for ideas to do with my daughter's Kindergarten class and my sons 2nd grade too. So far this is my favorite idea for the older kids:
http://mythreesonsknit.blogspot.com/2010/02/ticker-tape-parade.html
Haven't settled on a little kids idea yet. I am hoping you will share any ideas that come your way!

[Darla]

Back in the day when I was teaching full-time (BC) some successful auction projects were hand prints on a table and chair set, hand prints on quilt squares and making a photo album where the children do a self portrait and you take a photo of them to have side by side. The key to doing hand prints or finger prints is letting the children practice at least once on poster board, so they can get the hang of having the paint on their hands and keeping them flat. I also like the Ed Emberley style of finger or thumb prints on a picture frame and framing a class picture. It is challenging with the younger grades, but rewarding. Having teacher support/enthusiasm helps.

[michelle]

Last year for our school auction {it was a preschool}, my idea worked very well. We brought pottery from a local pottery shop {http://www.ifanelephantcanpaint.com/} and the kids painted handprints on a large platter and large pasta bowl. Then a parent {artist} turned the handprints into daisies and wrote each child's name on their hand...brought them back to the pottery shop to get glazed.

Another idea is to have the older children take candid pictures around school/sports and auction those photos. You can even blow up some of the really great shots or canvas them.

i'll be scanning this post for more ideas for this years {k-8 school auction.

[Trisha]

Hi,

I've been getting a lot of inspiration for art projects with kids from That Artist Woman's blog (http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/), which I think I found via the Crafty Crow (http://belladia.typepad.com/crafty_crow/).

The hand-painted scarves are nice:
http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/2009/05/handpainted-scarves-easy-mothers-day.html

The afterschool teacher at my son's Montessori school worked with the class to create a quilt. Each square had fabric pieces laid out by one of the children. The pieces were shaped like triangles or rectangles or squares, and the kids put them every which way. I think she used the double-sided adhesive stuff to iron them on and then put the squares together. It was amazing, and I couldn't even afford the opening bid.

Have fun!

[Kathleen]

My children also attend a K through 8 school that raises money with an auction. I have worked with my children's classes to make classroom art projects and have found painted tablecloths and advent calendars to be popular projects. I will send you an e-mail with more details and pictures of the completed projects. Good luck.

[Molly]

We made applesauce for the first time this year. Like, 10 gallons. Totally ad hoc. Exactly as you say, except with cider instead of water. And a few nubs of leftover nutmeg, the parts you can't grate. So good.

[Erin]

the cider is genius. doing that next time.

[Erin]

oh! i love the advent calendar idea! thanks kathleen!

[erin]

erin, our school did oragami birds, butterflys, bugs in bright colors and framed in black shadow box, they were great! Also, my kids are at a catholic school, take pictures of stained glass windows at church, enlarge, cut out have each child color a section and put back together on black paper and it looks like stained glass then frame! They turned out really nice! Or same idea with a large poster of monet or any art you like grid it out on paper and have each child color, paint or pastel or they can each choose the medium they like they each do their own section then frame, really cool too! Have fun! erin

[Heide]

Oh my gosh, why has it never occured to me to freeze applesauce? You just blew my mind, and now I feel very dumb. That is so simple and smart.