{This recipe} Eight apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely diced into chunks and tossed in a tablespoon of lemon juice to keep from browning.

Put into a large pot with a half cup of sugar (a little less for Leena’s batch) and a cinnamon stick.

Along with a cup of nice apple cider. Don’t worry, moms— the alcohol boils off.

Twenty minutes later, I left the sauce fairly unmashed, so there’d be interesting textures.

We tried the first batch, warm and fresh off the stove, before making another one. The apple sauce was fabulous.

“Try it Leena Leena,” Sonya said. “Good apple sauce, Leena Leena.”

“I think Leena Leena needs a bib,” I said.

We made a second batch so we’ll be able to enjoy this as a snack all through the week. 10 cups of tasty tasty homemade applesauce.

Sonya wanted to add a little flair to the photography.

“Moose climbing tower. Oh no! Here comes fish. Hi, Moose!” Sonya said.

Yup, she’s becoming very good at stringing together sentences and expressing ideas. Very exciting.

The other minor accomplishment of the day includes organizing my kitchen measures while the apple sauce was cooking on the stove. (I used these hooks). Then I practiced opening and closing the cupboard quickly to see if I could send a teaspoon flying. Nope. They stay put. Excellent.

Ah, life’s simple pleasures. In the summer heat, I didn’t want to be near the stove. Now that the days are colder, it feels good to be in the kitchen with a pot simmering. Just hanging out. The Ruths Girls. Waiting for Daddy to come home tomorrow.