Remembrance Day Applesauce

Wandering through the store this morning, on the lookout for good breakfast items, I almost purchased the red raspberries on sale -- buy one, get one free. But the apples....the apples caught my eye. This is not the season for raspberries. They're probably tasteless, going out of season. But the apples....I'm smitten.

Apples have not been on my table often this Fall. I'm blaming it on the weather. Weather which makes you want to go out for a dip in pool is not conducive to the desire to cook and bake with the flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.

Thoughts of apple picking and warm pie are now finding their way into my brain now. Rain and chilly temperatures does that to you.

Applesauce is fairly straightforward to make. The only danger while cooking it, is allowing the liquid to boil out causing it to burn. I tried something novel this morning and added orange juice. Delicious risk.

It turned out to be the next best thing to apple pie -- an American icon to remind us on this Veterans' Day. It's all that without the fattening crust.

Remembrance Day Applesauce 

3 apples, diced (I used Gala -- you can peel them if you desire)

1/4 c. orange juice

1/4 c. water

1 T. honey

1/2 t. cinnamon (adjust to taste -- I err on the side of plenty)

Place apples, water and orange juice in a pot. Bring to a boil. Add cinnamon and mix in. Allow to cook until most of the liquid is evaporated.

Add honey as you wish. (My recipe needed a little as the peel was a tad bitter, but you may not need any.)

***********************

In honor of those who offer their selfless dedication and service to our country on this Veterans' Day, two evocative poems in remembrance of our soldiers.

The Things That Make a Soldier Great

by Edgar Guest

The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,

To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why,

Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,

The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,

The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:

'Tis these that make a soldier great.

He's fighting for them all.

'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;

'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;

For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam

As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.

Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run,

You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.

What is it through the battle smoke the valiant soldier sees?

The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,

The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,

Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.

The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome

But to the spot, where'er it be — the humblest spot called home.

And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there

And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;

The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,

And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.

He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,

And only death can stop him now -- he's fighting for them all.

 

It is the Soldier

by Father Dennis Edward O'Brien

It is the Soldier,

not the reporter, who has given us freedom of press.

It is the Soldier,

not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the Soldier,

not the campus organizer, who gives us freedom to demonstrate.

It is the Soldier

who salutes the flag,

who serves beneath the flag,

and whose coffin is draped by the flag,

who allows the protester to burn the flag.

If you have an extra moment, check out the post of a military wife, a good friend of mine -- 'Daddy's Flag.' 

Beautifully poignant today.