Peaches

I canned peaches last year and said I'd probably never do it again until we had our own peach tree to make it a little more economical once you factor in all the time it takes to prep and can the peaches. Well, my SIL Mary received some fabulous tips from her in-laws on canning peaches that save sooooo much time and effort, so I decided to give them a try again this year afterall. I canned them about two weeks ago now and did 32 pints! Not bad at all compared to my 5 pints last year! The crazy thing is... I think I did the 32 pints in LESS time than it took me to do the 5 pints! This is definitely the way to do peaches! Mary posted the method on her blog last week, too, so I've just copied and pasted her description below.

The Easy Way to Can Peaches

Prep jars, lids and canner
Make simple syrup (I did a light syrup...2 1/2-3 cups sugar in about 11 cups water)
Prep treatment solution (I just sprinkled with some Fruit Fresh)
Wash peaches
Cut peaches in half
Remove pit
Quarter peaches if necessary
Place peaches in treatment solution
When all peaches are ready drain solution
Place peaches in hot jars, cut side down if possible
Cover with syrup
Secure lid and band
Process in boiling canner 25 min. for pints, 30 min. for quarts

Once you are ready to use the peaches, the peels will just slide right off.

Pineapple Peach Salsa

I came across another salsa recipe on RecipeZaar that I knew I wanted to try. It was for peach salsa, but I wanted to make a pineapple-peach salsa. So I substituted half of the peaches for canned pineapple. Just a heads up, you cannot use fresh pineapple and safely boiling water bath this salsa, as the fresh pineapple has a lower pH than does the canned pineapple. So I made this tonight. It's so yummy! I can't wait to have some! We love to eat chips and salsa, so this will be a great salsa to have on hand!

Pineapple Peach Salsa

3 cups chopped peaches
3 cups chopped canned pineapple
3 large fresh tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped red onions
4 medium jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 large sweet red pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons liquid honey
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Blanch peaches, cool in cold water, peel, pit and chop to measure 3 cups. Drain and chop canned pineapple to measure 3 cups. Blanch tomatoes and cool with cold water, peel, remove seeds and cut into chunks. In a large stainless or enamel cooking pot, combine peaches, tomatoes, onion, Jalapeno peppers, sweet red pepper, cilantro, vinegar, honey, garlic, cumin and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. If the mixture is too sloppy or soupy, boil for a few minutes longer so that some of the liquid evaporates and the mixture thickens. Adjust seasonings to taste. Add more cayenne pepper if you desire a spicier taste.

Ladle salsa into hot jars to within 1/4 inch of top for headspace. Remove air bubbles by sliding a rubber spatula between the glass and salsa. Re-adjust the headspace to 1/4 inch. Wipe jar rim to remove any stickiness. Center lid on top of jar; apply screw band just until finger tight. Place jars in a hot bath in a canner and process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath. Remove jars and place on a towel, then cover with another towel to cool slowly.

Makes 8 half-pints.

Peach-Blueberry Cobbler

I've got a lot of catching up to do with posts from last week. First up, a fresh peach and blueberry cobbler. I found a recipe on RecipeZaar that sounded like a good one to try. I used some fresh chopped peaches and some fresh blue crop blueberries. This was so yummy! Definitely hit the spot! My parents tried some when they stopped by and thought it was delicious, too. I think most cobbler recipes are pretty similar, so I doubt this is anything special, really, but it'll be one of my go-to cobbler recipes from now on.

Fresh Peach Cobbler

6 cups peeled sliced peaches (I just eye-balled it between peaches and blueberries)
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Filling: Mix peaches, sugar and flour together and pour into a 15-inch baking dish.

Batter: Combine 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor. Process to combine. Add the milk and melted butter. Process until smooth. Spoon batter over the peaches, making sure you spread to edge of dish.

Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon over the top.

Bake in center of oven about one hour.

Crust should be brown and crisp on the outside and cooked all the way through. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Variation: Blackberry, blueberry or raspberry cobbler--omit cinnamon and nutmeg.