While cooking, listen to this: Strawberry Fields Forever by The Beatles

Sometimes my job is cool.

One day, Rina and I will publish a heartwarming cookbook and entertain you with our kitchen mishaps, yummy recipes and music recommendations full time. Until then, we’ll be side-hustling away while our main hustle brings provides us with money, health insurance and 401K.

You all know I’m a book publicist. You might not know what that means, and, honestly, I wouldn’t blame you. Typically, I’m sitting at my desk trying to craft the most attention-grabbing subject line I can think of and flipping through books to find nuggets of interesting, news-worthy information. Occasionally, it means escorting authors. Rarely, it means spending Monday and Tuesday with a famous con-man. Yes, that famous con-man played by Leo DiCaprio.

Frank is just as sweet and charming in person. He’s surprisingly low-key, easy-going and has the most interesting stories about his time pretending to be a pilot, consulting the FBI and working with Steven Spielberg. He even told me that Leo once said that he was the best actor in history because he spent every day for five years acting from the moment he woke up till his head hit the pillow at night.

Does this mean I’m one step closer to saying there’s only one man standing between me and Leo? Yes. Am I thrilled about that? Absolutely. But it also means for a few weeks I got really, truly excited about the work I do. And that is a gift in and of itself.

Something else that recently got me really, truly excited? This applesauce. And just in time for fall to come in swinging, no less. Ah, my favorite season.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is also right around the corner, and whether you celebrate or not, we’ve got your perfect start to a sweet new year. The amazing thing about this applesauce is that its richness isn’t cloying and it’s flavor is completely full. On more than one occasion I took a spoon directly to the jar. But, in case you have more willpower than I do (and bless you, if you do!), we’ll be sharing a couple of ways to utilize this yumminess this holiday in the coming weeks.

Just in case you’re looking for something to get excited about — after all, summer is closing out, the days are getting shorter and school is back in session — why not get excited about throwing a bunch of apples into a vat of some sort and letting it simmer away while you sit back and chat with friends or read a book. As an added bonus, your home will smell heavenly!

In case you were looking for the perfect excuse to lug too many apples back from the orchard, look no further! As per usual, we’ve got your best interest at heart.

xo, Alyssa

QUICK HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE

Yield: about 3 cups

Active Cook Time: 5m | Inactive Cook Time: 35-45m | Total Cook Time: 40-50m

Category: Breakfast, Sides, Spoonable, Sweet

Source: Destination Delish

Special Equipment: immersion or high-speed blender or potato masher

Note: We use a mix of granny smith and honeycrisp apples to get a sweet-tart vibe. Use your favorites if this doesn’t a-peel to you (I am so sorry).

Ingredients

4 medium apples (see note above)

juice from 1 small lemon, plus more to taste

2 cups water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

tiny pinch salt

Instructions

Prepare the apples: core, peel and chop the apples. If you’re going for a smooth consistency at the end, the size of the apple pieces doesn’t matter. If you like some bits in there (like we do), try to keep the pieces as even as possible, about 1-inch or so.

Cook the applesauce: in a medium saucepan add the apples, lemon juice, water, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon nutmeg and tiniest pinch of salt. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down to a simmer and let cook for 35 minutes, stirring once in a while to make sure it isn’t burning on the bottom. Cook for 10 minutes more, or until the sauce has gotten thick and most of the apple pieces have mushed together.

Blend/mash/leave alone: if you like smooth applesauce, use an immersion blender directly in the pan or transfer to a high-speed blender to blend until smooth. If you like some texture, use a potato masher to lightly mash into a desired consistency. You can also just leave it alone!

To serve: with Rosh Hashana coming up, this is the perfect time to slather this on everything or just eat it straight up. It goes amazingly well with pancakes, baked goods, overnight oats, ice cream etc. - there’s probably very little you can serve this with that wouldn’t be delicious.

To keep: if you like to preserve things this could definitely be jarred and kept for months if done properly. If you just want it hanging out in the fridge, it’ll stay good for about 1 week or so.