During a chunk of my childhood, my family lived in a house that had once been owned by a botanist. She had planted all sorts of wonderful stuff on the property, including a small apple orchard way at the very back of long, sloping yard. I loved going down there with the dog after school in the fall. The air carried the smell of boozy, decomposing fruit and I felt like a pioneer girl, being able to pick all the apples I wanted.

My mom, driven by the desire not to be wasteful, would pick buckets of apples and make huge batches of applesauce that would get ladled into plastic quart-sized bags and frozen. I learned from her just how easy it is to whip up a pot of applesauce and what a rewarding activity it is. I don't have access to apple trees the way I once did, but I try to go apple picking at least once a fall at one of the local farms in my area. I always turn at least half my bounty into a large batch of applesauce. I save some to make applesauce cake and eat the rest by the bowlful. It tastes like pure fall.

My "recipe" for making applesauce is after the jump.

There is a problem with using a strategy known as "nutrient profiling," a strategy designed to help regulatory agencies determine what is - and what is not - junk food quickly and easily. It works by setting limits on the number of calories and the amount of fat, salt, sugar, etc. that any food product can have. Everything is held to the same standard based on a predetermined portion size. Advertisers, schools and government agencies using this see the food world in black and white and it makes it very easy to sort out the goof from the bad.

In theory, that is.

The problem is that it doesn't take into account what the food actually is. Last year in the US, Illinois introduced similar standards that left whole milk classified as "junk food." Now, in the UK, Ofcom's guidelines for food advertising classify cheese as junk food, as well as several other foods that wouldn't necessarily be perceived as junk food by the average consumer, because it is "high in fat, salt and[/or] sugar ." This means that cheese cannot be advertised on TV programs made for children or where a high proportion of the viewers are under 16.

The nutrient profiling system has led to complaints from food organizations, including the British Cheese Board, and calls for a change in structure. The BCB says that the portion size of cheese used was much too large and other groups say that it is unfair that natural, balanced foods are restricted while diet sodas and other low-cal processed foods are permitted.

The USDA has some comprehensive food safety guidelines to help you cook your Thanksgiving turkey. While some cookbooks, and probably some chefs, might tell you that cooking times and temperatures should be changed to produce a moister bird, at least you'll get a safe bird from using the USDA's guide. First things first, you need to completely defrost your turkey before beginning. Keep the turkey in its original wrapper as it thaws and try to keep it as cool as possible. It should either be defrosted by being submerged in cold water or on a tray in the refrigerator.

Frozen turkey thawing timetable
Weight In refrigerator In cold water
4 to 12 pounds 1 to 3 days 2 to 6 hours
12 to 16 pounds 3 to 4 days 6 to 8 hours
16 to 20 pounds 4 to 5 days 8 to 10 hours
20 to 24 pounds 5 to 6 days 10 to 12 hours

The recommended daily guidelines for Americans suggest that at least half of all the grains consumed during the day be whole grains, which comes out to be 3 -5 servings daily. Aside from whole grain breads, like those made from whole wheat flour instead of wheat flour, there are quite a few other foods that will let you get those servings in. The ten most popular sources of whole grains are whole wheat (flour), whole oats/oatmeal, whole-grain corn, popcorn, brown rice, whole rye, whole-grain barley, wild rice, buckwheat and triticale, and as they are the most popular, they are also the most readily available.

Oatmeal, corn, popcorn and both brown and wild rice are easy enough to add into your weekly diet, and barley can stand in for rice or potatoes at many meals. Rye and buckwheat can be found in many breads, most of which will make superb sandwiches during the week. To add them in at home, you can try buckwheat pancakes or a blueberry buckwheat bundt cake. Triticale is a hybrid of rye and wheat, found mostly at health food stores, and can also be incorporated into many recipes.

A great source for some whole-grain recipes online is Bob's Red Mill website, which covers recipes for all of the top 10 grains.

The British Food Standards Agency estimates that there are 3.5-million vegetarians and 250,000 vegans in the UK and, after consultation with both vegetarian and vegan groups, have decided to formulate labeling guidelines to food producers to follow. There is lots of confusion about the definitions of the terms among consumers, as well as manufacturers. Generally speaking, vegetarians refrain from eating meat products and vegans avoid all animal-derived products, including dairy and eggs. The purpose of introducing such guidelines is to prevent manufacturers from incorrectly identifying products as "vegetarian" or "vegan" when they actually contain meat-based or animal derived ingredients. To be sure all their bases were covered, the also defined the term "animals." With standards in place, consumers no longer need to worry that what they are picking up might contain undisclosed ingredients. The official guidelines are:

"Vegetarian: The term 'vegetarian' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of products derived from animals that have died, have been slaughtered, or animals that die as a result of being eaten.

Animals means farmed, wild or domestic animals, including for example, livestock poultry, game, fish, shellfish, crustacea, amphibians, tunicates, echinoderms, mollusks and insects.

Vegan: The term 'vegan' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of animals or animal products (including products from living animals)."

We have been told constantly since the new food pyramid was released that whole grains are essential to a healthy diet. There are many names for breads that contain whole grains: seven-grain, multi-grain, whole wheat. But the name, until this week, was actually no guarantee that the bread itself contained whole grains. A wide range of other products - from cereal to pasta - claim whole grains as a component.  This week, the Food and Drug Administration issued guidelines that define what a "whole grain" product actually is. According to CBC news, the FDA says that whole grains must have the intact, ground, cracked or flaked fruit of the grains. "The grain's principal components - the starchy endosperm, germ and bran - are also in the same relative proportions as they exist in the intact grain. Such grains may include barley, buckwheat, bulgur and corn."

The definition is merely in draft form at this point and it is unclear whether federal labeling regulations might be applied in the future. Some companies - like General Mills - asked for a specific guideline as to what might be considered to be a "good" or "excellent" source of whole grains, but the FDA has refused to issue one at this time.