Strawberry applesauce

My apologies for my hiatus as of late. Grad school has proven to be a bit more stressful than I had imagined and although I've been cooking a lot to keep myself sane, I've hardly had any time to post any of the awesome recipes that I've been making. I've realize though, in the past 6 weeks of grad school, that cooking is my release; it is one of the only ways that I can destress instantly. Some people like to work out, others enjoy a glass of wine, others watch TV...my ideal way to put the stressful day behind me is to crack open a cookbook, take out the knives and pans, and get lost in the aromas, colors, and familiar actions of concocting gustatory pleasure.

My parents came to visit us here in Iowa City this past weekend. We went to a local apple orchard and picked lots of apples. After I came home today from taking a surprisingly difficult exam (I hope the professor believes in curving), I decided to make some strawberry applesauce as reinforcement that the test is behind me and now I'm home. It is so delicious that I caught myself shoveling hot spoonfuls into my watering mouth right out of the food processor, not even allowing it to cool first.

In a large saucepan, combine:

• 5 apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
• 10 strawberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1/2 cup water
• between 1/4 and 1/2 cup white sugar, depending on how sweet you like your applesauce
• 1 cinnamon stick

Simmer over low heat for about 20-30 minutes until the apples are tender. Once the apples are soft, transfer everything in the pot (except the cinnamon stick) into a food processor. Pulse a few times until everything is uniform. Depending on how chunky/smooth you like your applesauce, process until you've reached a desired consistency.

Strawberry rhubarb pie

I have weird feelings about rhubarb. When it's raw, it's completely unpalatable and smells pretty awful. But by cooking it with the right amount of sugar/spices/other flavors, it totally transforms into this wonderful, uniquely tart taste. When I start to see rhubarb sold in the stores, I get excited because it means spring is here and warm weather will be coming soon since rhubarb is one of the first harvested food plants of the year. I decided to make strawberry rhubarb pie this week because, well, I love pie and the combination of rhubarb, strawberries, and sugar is heavenly. I compiled a few different recipes that I found online to come up with the following recipe. The orange zest added such a nice touch, as did the cinnamon and vanilla. I was lazy and didn't make my own pie crust...I just bought one of those Pillsbury pie crusts that you unroll out of the box.

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2.  Unroll one pie crust and place it in an ungreased 9 inch pie pan.
3.  In a large bowl, combine the following:

• 3 cups chopped rhubarb
• 2 cups quartered strawberries
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

4.  Spoon this mixture into the prepared pie crust.
5.  Dot the top of the mixture with 2 tablespoons cubed butter.
6.  Using your fingertip or a pastry brush, wet the edges of the bottom pie crust with some water, milk, or beaten egg. This will allow the upper crust to adhere to the upper crust.
7.  Unroll and lay the second pie crust on top of the mixture. Press the edges of the pie together so the two layers of pie crust blend together.
8.  Cut slits in the top crust to let the steam escape while it's baking. You can also make a lattice top, if you like.
9.  Beat 1 egg in a small dish and brush the top of pie crust with the egg wash.
10.  Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
11.  Then turn the temperature down to 375 degrees and bake for another 35-40 minutes.
12.  If you can wait, let the pie cool before you slice it so the juices have time to congeal.