Basic Applesauce

So apparently Christmas is the holiday on which EFL students in China give their teachers apples, the less flavorful (Red "Delicious," anyone?) the better. It got to the point that I had a small mountain of apples in a corner of my kitchen, and that's when I started looking at applesauce recipes! The following is a quick and easy one adapted from this recipe.



Basic Applesauce

Ingredients
7 to 8 medium-sized apples (cored and chopped)
1 1/2 cups of water
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of *cinnamon (if desired)
Lemon juice (1 small lemon)
Lemon zest (1 small lemon)

*I like cinnamon applesauce, but it's not everyone's cup of tea!

Directions
1) Lord, bless!
2) Place everything in a **large pot and bring to a boil.
3) Simmer, covered, over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes until tender.
4) Mash and add more [white] sugar if desired.
5) Serve - or chill and serve, or chill and use for baking, or whatever! - and enjoy!

**I currently do not own a large pot (woe is me, I know!), so I had my pot with half the required water already heating while I chopped the apples - that way they had a chance to cook down and, in the end, fit (just barely) in the pot.