This time of year, the leaves start to change and a bounty of wonderful fruits and veggies get ready to be harvested. Apple trees, for example, are already loaded down with delicious fruit. Although these sweet crunchy orbs make for a wonderful snack as-is, there are plenty of other great ways to prepare your apples.

Since I have both a toddler and an abundance of apples, I decided to share a simple, yet necessary, recipe for apple sauce. Personally, I like to use less sugar in my sauce and tend to stray away from regular white sugar. As with any recipe though, you should add what you like and sweeten to taste. Raw sugar, white sugar, or even honey can easily be used in place of the brown sugar in my recipe in their respective quantities. Happy harvest!

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Apple Sauce

Ingredients:

3 lbs apples – peeled, cored, and cut in six slices

3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1-2 cinnamon sticks

1/4-1/2 cup of brown sugar (you can use white, or raw sugar and should also be adding this to taste)

1-2 cups water

1 pinch of salt

Directions:

In a large pot, combine apples, lemon juice, cinnamon sticks and water, enough to just cover the apples. Bring it to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the apples are softened. Mix in sugar and additional cinnamon if desired, making sure it dissolves completely.

Carefully remove cinnamon sticks and mash with a potato masher for chunky sauce or puree in a food processor if you prefer it smoother. Allow to cool completely and store in the refrigerator. Garnish with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

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There are lot’s of folks celebrating the apple harvest right now, here are some events where apples are the star!

Saturday, October 5 I “Apple Harvest Tea” – Santa Ana, California   Victorian Tea Society invites you to an “Apple Harvest Tea” under the shade pavilion at the Heritage Museum of Orange County. This formal Victorian tea will be celebrating the blessings of the harvest season. Gather your friends to sip apple cider and tea, and taste apple-inspired delicacies. While enjoying the autumn breeze there will be musical entertainment provided by the talented Georgiana Hennessy and Matt Tonge. Listen to them work their magic on the fiddle and guitar as they charm you with traditional Irish ballads and folksongs.

Sunday, October 6 I Portland Revels Cider Pressing Party and Harvest Potluck – Hillsboro, Oregon   Every autumn, Portland Revels looks forward to hosting its annual Apple Cider Press & Potluck Party. Based on the country truism that, “many hands make light work” Revels rounds up bushels of apples, sets up presses, and invites friends, neighbors and curious passers-by to come chop a few apples to feed the presses. The fruits of this labor are gallons galore of sweet, fresh apple juice. This year’s party will be held from 1 to 5pm on Sunday, October 6th in Hillsboro. Live bluegrass music will be provided by Folk City, featuring talented musicians Kevin Shay Johnson and Mick Doherty. Members of the Renegade Rose Morris team will demonstrate the fine art of traditional Morris Dance steps with bells jingling and sticks and white hankies flying. Once the apples are all squeezed, the potluck feast will be laid out and everyone will be invited to fill up their plates. By the end of the party, Portland Revels anticipates that guests will have a gallon of apple juice, several new friends, and a story or two to take home. To join in, guests should bring a labeled jug to collect a share of cider, and a potluck specialty dish to contribute. The entry fee raises funds for the Christmas Revels show.

Saturday, October 12 I It’s Harvest Time! – A Snoqualmie Valley Young Life Event – North Bend, Washington   Young Life’s annual fundraising night is back — Harvest Party style! Grab your friends, your cowboy hat and boots! Get ready for a good old-fashioned hoedown complete with a delicious BBQ dinner, homemade apple cobbler and barn dancing. You’ll hear inspiring stories from Young Life kids and volunteers as well as what’s new for Snoqualmie Valley Young Life in 2013-14.

Wednesday, October 23 I Orcharding on the Westside Parts 1 & 2 – Everett, Washington   Western Washington’s weather always gets a bad rap when it comes to growing healthy tree fruit like apples, pears, peaches, and cherries. Westside growers are fortunate that the many years of WSU Extension research into variety and growing technique improvements are coming to fruition. New, disease resistant cultivars combined with updated methods of pruning, pest, and fertility management are helping westside growers establish healthy tree fruit orchards. During this two-part series, you’ll learn about the basics of tree fruit production including variety and rootstock selection for each different fruit type, nutrient and pest management planning for organic and conventional orchards, irrigation, orchard layout, planting, pruning, and harvest indices. The instructor is Gary Moulton, now retired after leading the Fruit Horticulture program at the Washintgon State University Research Station in Mt. Vernon since 1991. He holds a master’s from WSU in plant pathology specializing in fruit diseases, and a bachelor’s in pomology/fruit science from Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo. Currently a consultant to the Western Washington tree fruit and wine grape industries, Gary is known as the ‘go-to’ guy on raising high-quality fruit and wine grapes on the “wet side” of Washington state. Part 1 is Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013 from 6-9pm and Part 2 will be Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2013 from 6-9pm. Both sessions will be held at WSU Snohomish County Extension’s Cougar Auditorium.