Nectarine "Applesauce"

Yours truly is allergic to apples. I think it's kind of a sick joke, actually, considering apples and their allergenic cousin, pears, are both the heralds of autumn and the miracles of fruit. If it were an eye-swelling, hives-inducing allergy I would be a lot less sad about it. In that case, I'd hopefully have some Pavlovian response and retch at the thought of apple pie. Instead, I fondly remember gathering apples and pressing cider with my family. I instinctively pick up fallen apples from the sidewalk and salivate when I serve a dutch oven full of buttery baked apples. You, of course, already know how amazing apples are, so why don't I just expose the cure to apples? Ta da: Nectarines!

Who would have thought that this summery Chinese fruit would be an answer to autumn woes? But it's true! On the stove or in the oven, nectarines will cook down to a few of your favorite apple dishes. So while I haven't yet tried a solid "Apple" pie, I do have some proof that nectarines are my little miracle.

Nectarine "Applesauce"
Nectarines
Sugar
Fresh grated ginger
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

Pit and chop enough nectarines to fill a blender. Blend up the fruit until you achieve whatever consistency you generally like in applesauce, then pour it into the largest pot you can possibly find. Keep chopping and blending until your pot is half full (the more you fill, the more of a mess you will make, as this stuff boils over as happily as spaghetti sauce). Turn the stove on to medium-high heat, or just enough to prevent a full-on boil. Stir often. Cook until the sauce is as thick or as runny as you like it-- really, all you're doing here is browning the mixture a little bit and letting moisture boil out. I prefer a thick, chunky sauce, so I blend minimally and cook each batch for 45-60 minutes. Just before you're ready to can, add a little sugar, but I warn you: it doesn't need much. Stir in some fresh grated ginger or a little cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. I alternate batches in order to appeal to the rest of my household-- I can always mix two jars later. Pour into hot jars leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace, process for 10-15 minutes.

Concord Grape and Nectarine Butter
Nectarines
Fresh, local, concord grapes
Honey

This little number was borrowed from Christie's Corner. I felt like this recipe was simple because I was already stuck in the kitchen on a nectarine applesauce marathon. I made a batch of nectarine sauce-- but this one was blended particularly smooth. While the sauce was cooking, I blended a few pounds of local concord grapes in a blender. Using cheesecloth--while wearing old, stained clothes-- I squeezed every last drop of juice out into the nectarine sauce. Then I cooked the sauce for longer than usual, adding to the thickness by sweetening with honey instead of cane sugar. And... butter! Pretty darn simple if you're already canning nectarines anyway.