gemütlichkeit

Yesterday I made the best damn dessert I've had in ages. Yes I do say so myself.

Warm applesauce with whipped cream. That's it. I know. It sounds so very simple. So pedestrian. But let me tell you, it warmed my belly and my heart. And my family nearly gave me a medal.

I got the idea from my friend Jen Vu who is a wonderful cook. Here's what you do:

Peel and quarter as many apples as will fit in your crock pot. You must use a crock pot because then the apples cook all day and your house smells like heaven and you find yourself happy even while folding laundry and thinking that you have the coziest house around.

The best apple sauce is made with a mixture of different types of apples. I used pink ladies, red delicious and gala. Before you put your apples in the crock pot, give them a spritz of lemon juice to keep them from going brown. I stuck a cinnamon stick and several Tahitian vanilla beans down into the apples and put in a few tablespoons of water. No need for sugar my friends. As my mother likes to say, "apples are nature's candy". I didn't buy it as a kid, but after you taste fresh homemade applesauce you will agree.

Let it cook all day. I set my crock for 10 hours but they were done in 7. The apples are done when you can smash them with your potato masher.

Smash them up good and serve warm, in a lovely dish, with a big ol' dollop of whip cream melting on the top.

Be ready to lap up rare moment when your children think you are wonderful and your husband gives you the look. You know the one. What's that they say? The way to a man's heart...

Gemütlichkeit  is a German abstract noun that has been adopted into English. Its closest equivalent is the word "coziness"; however, rather than merely describing a place that is compact, well-heated and nicely furnished (a cozy room, a cozy flat), Gemütlichkeit connotes the notion of belonging, social acceptance, cheerfulness, the absence of anything hectic and the opportunity to spend quality time.