Easy Apple Butter

This was my first experience canning.  A friend of mine sent me home a few weeks ago with her own canned strawberry preserves and fig jam and sold me on the art of canning.  I had no idea how EASY it is.  Therefore, with Matt out of town this weekend and a solid two days of cleaning house and playing in the kitchen, I decided to give my own recipe & canning a try.  First up:  apple butter.  There really is nothing better at the beginning of fall than the powerful aroma of slow cooking apples and cinnamon.  Heavenly. 

Below is the recipe I used, however I think in the future I'd cut out an entire cup (maybe just half to start) of the sugar, good God this stuff is sweet.  But still delicious.  The best part?  This recipe is for slow cooker apple butter, no intense process necessary.  After the laborious prep of peeling and slicing all of the apples, this was easy-peasy.  I think I might be in a canning phase for awhile.
(Note:  this recipe only yielded 6 x 4oz canning jars.  I will double this recipe in the future.)

Crock Pot Apple Butter
Approx. 3 lbs apples
3 cups sugar (they also suggest substituting 1 cup honey for 1 of the cups of sugar to lessen the sweetness)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cloves
dash of salt
3/4 cup water (or fresh apple cider, which I did not have)

Fill crock pot with peeled, cored, and sliced apples (crock pot should not exceed 3/4 full).  Add the remaining ingredients and stir until evenly mixed.  Cover and cook on 
low setting all day or overnight until the butter is of a thick, spreadable consistency.
If apple butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until thickened.  Stir often as butter thickens to prevent scorching.  When you're all done, use an immersion blender for a couple minutes for a smoother consistency.

I used this link for assistance in my canning procedure, as well as this starter kit for dropping my jars into my boiling water bath.

Silverlake Farmer's Market

I am generally an early riser, not because I can't sleep until noon if challenged, but because I love beginning my day with the simple pleasure of sipping a cup of coffee while the world is still sweetly serene outside my window.  This Saturday I was up so early I actually made it to my neighborhood Farmer's Market before the masses arrived.  
I really need to make a habit of coming here more often.  I always feel... just so happy to be there... wandering around, taking my time choosing my produce (and fresh lavender this week), soaking in the vibrant colors of the surrounding fruits, veggies, and flowers.  It baffles me why I don't make the effort to do this every weekend.

Here are a few snapshots from my early morning trip to the Silverlake Farmer's Market.

Hope you enjoyed your Saturday morning, too.

Saint Agur Blue

Saint Agur blue cheese has been a contender as my favorite for a couple years running.  It's a French cow's milk double cream (since it has 60% butter cream) that balances it's extra tangy flavor with a smooth, creamy texture.  I love serving it with a touch of raw honey on sourdough.  A more subtly flavored french bread would definitely be wiser so as not to compete with Saint Agur's flavors, but when I catch the scent of freshly baked sourdough I just can't help myself.

White Bean & Chicken Chili

I acquired this recipe via my mother-in-law... via my sister-in-law... via her grandmother.  It's a slow cooker recipe that is so simple to put together and incredibly delicious.  Bonus:  it's also another healthy recipe.

I usually serve it with grilled sourdough.  This particular recipe will feed 5-6, or for Matt and I... two meals (we severely lack portion control).

Everything goes right into the crock pot:

-6 x boneless chicken breast halves, sliced into large chunks
-48 oz (give or take a few depending on the size cans you get) of great white northern beans - undrained (I usually drain about half of each can anyway)
-1 x 8oz block of monterey jack cheese, shredded
-1 x can diced jalepeños (I love the kick of these -- add less if you're not a spicy fan)
-1 x chopped onion
-1 x chopped green pepper (I have forgotten this before and not even noticed a difference in taste)
-1 x cup chopped celery (3-4 stalks)
-16 oz mango salsa (I always have a hard time finding this so I usually use 8 oz salsa verde and 8 oz pineapple salsa
-2 Tbsp cumin
-1 Cup white wine (a chef once told me that you should never cook with wine you wouldn't drink.  I whole-heartedly agree.)

Once everything is in the crockpot, if you're in more of a "rush" cook on high for 1.5 - 2 hours and then low for 3 more hours... if you've got all day, cook on low for 8 hours.

Serve with grilled sourdough bread.

As with most crockpot recipes, this is even better the second day.