A while back I mentioned how I got the bright idea, to drive out to the farm and buy some Gravenstein apples, a specialty variety that comes on early and is definitely not a good keeper. Those apples have the most appley flavor and make sauce that needs no added sugar. But because I’m not thinking about apples in August I always miss them. It was too busy a week, as I realized eventually, and dropping that project — and the resulting extra kitchen work — from the to-do list brought great relief. I knew I would manage to go sometime in October or November and bring home a box of apples of some other type.

Then when my sister Nancy was visiting last week, I thought what a nice thing to do together, to drive through the beautiful countryside and visit my favorite orchard. When we arrived, we found that the apples are late this year, and the only variety they had so far (out of dozens that they grow) was Gravensteins!

I’ve made several jars’ worth of sauce so far and eaten many out of hand, mealy as they already are. So, so yummy, and a special treat for me. Next year maybe I will try to get them earlier, but there’s no way to predict what week that might be, this far ahead. So I’ll just be ready to receive whatever gifts come my way.