Ever have one of those moments where a sound or a scent trans­ports you back to a favorite memory? That hap­pened to me last Sunday morning and it made me smile because that moment told me, more accu­rately than any cal­endar could, that the Fall season is fast approaching.

Let me explain.

We have had some warm nights recently, so my hus­band and I have taken to sleeping with the window cracked a little bit to take advan­tage of any breeze that might blow our way. This is why on Sunday morning, I awoke to the sound of the freight train in the dis­tance and a light breeze that had a cool bite to it. There is some­thing about the sound of a train and a cool breeze that takes me back to waking up on Sat­ur­days in Eugene, Oregon, with fallen leaves on the ground, the smell of a wood fire hanging in the air, and stu­dents walking along the Willamette River to Autzen staduim to watch the foot­ball game. In my mind there is nothing that paints a more accu­rate pic­ture of the Fall season, and It hap­pens every time I hear that train.

Even if the train thing hadn't hap­pened, I would know that Fall is upon us merely because I find myself buying a lot more apples, and using them for more that just school lunches. My favorite way to use the great sea­sonal apples that are now avail­able is to make apple­sauce. We use apple­sauce a lot in my family. We eat it straight, or on pork, or even mixed into the pan­cake batter on the weekend. Some­times, I spread some on a ham sand­wich. (Yes, I've been known to do weird stuff like that.)

Below is my favorite recipe for apple­sauce from Alice Waters' cook­book Chez Panisse Fruit--which is an incred­ible book, by the way. There couldn't be an easier recipe, and it's a per­fect way to cel­e­brate the begin­ning of Fall. 

Apple­sauce
Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters 

Read the recipe on our website...