Fuel Friday #2: In Anticipation of Fall

As I was riding my bike home the other day I noticed something glorious. The leaves. The leaves which are normally a very deep green are brightening and shifting. The greens are turning yellow and even orange in some rare occurrences. The morning air is brisk, the air is crisp. Fall is knocking on our door. In anticipation of what is to come I gazed upon the remainder of my bulk purchase of apples from earlier this year. They're beginning to shrivel on the outside, and are completely useless for eating or juicing now with all the bruising and age. That got me thinking...

What is one of my favorite things in fall? What are these apples not only good for, but in an ideal condition? CIDER! I love cider, and cider loves me back. The oh so warm embrace of spices and the sweetness from the apples.... Oh I can taste it already.

The beautiful thing about this recipe is it can be made in a crockpot (easiest) or if you have a few hours and a pot (preferably cast iron, although a normal large pot will do), stovetop works too. This cider is best served warm, although I've drank most of this batch cold and I've got no complaints. Only thing I'll say is if you're using older apples, or ultra sweet apples, go easy on the sugar. I used old pink lady apples (a sweeter variety) and this cider was very very SWEET. Tart or fresher apples may need more sugar. Taste the batch before you allow it to cool too much, so you can add more sugar if you need.

Warmiez Apple Cider
10 Apples (quartered)
3/4 cup sugar
1 large bundle of mulling spices (cinnamon, clove, anise, nutmeg, allspice)
enough water to cover the apples
Cheese cloth or a fine mesh strainer

(size up/down the recipe based on how big your pot is, none of these measurements are exact)

Steps:
1. Quarter your apples and place them in your pot/crockpot.
2. Add water until all the apples are covered.
3. Add as much sugar as desired on top of apples.
4. Put in bag of mulling spices.*
5a. Crockpot: Cook on high setting for 4 hours. Allow to sit on warm/auto-shutoff overnight.
5b. Stovetop: Cook on high for 1 hour, cook on low for 2 hours. Allow to cool.
6: Mash apples with a potato masher or heavy duty spoon.
7: Strain apples and liquid through mesh strainer or cheese cloth in small batches until all the liquid and solids are separated. (I used a combination of both).
8: Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for several months.
*** One large crockpot will make about a gallon of cider.

Note: You can avoid the bag of mulling spices and put the spices in directly, but be prepared to be extra careful straining to remove all the seeds/pods.