Fall=Applesauce+ode to Grandma

Apples are one of  my favorite foods.  Throughout the year I like to dip them in peanut butter, honey, or enjoy them plain.  I love the crisp sound that comes from biting into a big juicy apple.  And I love making applesauce.  This is one of the many activities that reminds me of my Grandma.  I loved my Grandma like no other, and am always happy to bring back her memory at any opportunity.  Every year she would make a ton of applesauce and share it with everyone in the family.  Like me, my Grandma loved food, she loved preparing food, and she loved extending food as a gift to others.  I am always grateful that she passed this passion onto me. 
Applesauce is one of those things that takes hardly any talent, but it does take time.  This year I tried a new method of prepping my apples.  Instead of hauling out the slicer/peeler/corer, I simply washed them, cut them into chunks and put them into a huge pot.  I later pulled out the skins with tongs.  I had a hard time getting all of the skin out so I am not sure that the saved time was worthwhile, I will decide when I crack open the first jar. 
I also never bother with smoothing out my applesauce by putting it in a food mill or blender.  I like my food chunky, and Grandma's applesauce was always chunky, so I wouldn't change it!
You don't,as far as I know, have to add any extra sugar to apples to make them safe for canning.  I like my applesauce less sweet, so after a few recipe references, I decided to try seasoning my sauce with honey and cinnamon this year.  I really like the way it turned out.  The honey adds a nice mild sweetness, and it still tastes closer to unsweetened than sweetened.  Tim insisted on the addition of cinnamon, which is fine by me.  The key is using a mixture of apples-I used Jonathans and Fujis-that are not too tart.  Then, once the apples are cooked down into a sauce, taste it and see what you want to add.  Go with your gut on this one, the fun is in the experimentation.
If you have never made applesauce before I would consult the Ball website http://www.freshpreserving.com/ for a tested recipe. This is a good way to make sure that what you are canning is safe.  I did consult their website last night, just to make sure that I was on the right track. 
I am excited for Fall to be here, I am sick of hot weather.  I am enjoying the memory of my Grandma today as I still have the canning supplies out from last night. I am hoping to make more applesauce before the season is over.