Too Many Apples...

This was the first year that our apple tree in Palm Springs produced fruit, I'm not sure what kind of apples they are but they taste like a mix between Granny Smith and Golden Delicious. Well, the tree was full of these yellow-green apples ready for the pickin' so we brought probably ten pounds home, not yet sure what to do with them. Their texture was a bit too mealy for eating alone, and they were not going to hold their shape for a gallette. So, I got out some of my cookbooks for inspiration and came across a recipe for Apple Paste from Alice Waters' 'The Art of Simple Food'. I made two batches of the paste, which is pretty simple and just involves cooking the apples until soft, straining and passig through a food mill, and cooking with a cup of sugar and juice from one lemon for every 3 pounds or so, then letting it set and dry. A little time consuming, but well worth the effort. You can use it any place you would membrillo (quince paste), I'm thinking it will mainly go on a cheese board, but stuffing poached fruit or dates would be nice as well. I made quite a bit so I am thinking some will be gift wrapped and given to a chosen few (cross your fingers!). As you can see from the picture this project barely phased the mound of apples, so I made the rest into apple sauce, which I had for breakfast this morning with some plain yogurt and honey.