Apples are celebrated in everything from song to the dinner table.  Apples have long been a staple in a well-stocked kitchen.  From picking apples in Grandma’s back yard to buying them at country fruit stands, we can always find a way to enjoy this delicious fruit.  Here are a couple of old-fashion recipes that use these wonderful fruits.  The California Fresh Apple Cake is simple, easy, and delicious.  The Homemade Applesauce is great and is especially good when you add the old-fashion cinnamon “red hot” candies while simmering the apples.

CALIFORNIA FRESH APPLE CAKE
This old recipe is from West Covina, California.

4 cups coarsely diced apples
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 cup chopped nuts
2 eggs, well beaten
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix apples and sugar thoroughly. Add the oil, nuts, eggs, and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; add to the apple mixture. Combine mixture well. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until cake shrinks from the edge of the pan. Decrease heat to 250 degrees if you use a glass pan.

HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE

6 large Granny Smith and/or McIntosh apples
1/2 cup apple cider or juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Peel and core apples; cut into chunks. In a 3-quart saucepan combine the apple chunks and the cider or juice. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the apple chunks are very tender. Stir in the sugar and the cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook 2 minutes longer. Mash while still in the pot or cool then puree in a food processor. Cool; store in clean jars. Refrigerate for up to two weeks. Add 1/4 cup old fashion red hot cinnamon candy drops, if desired when you simmer the apples.

Yield: 4 cups

Enjoy!