We got a call from a farmer down the road inviting us to come down to his place and pick peaches, pears, and grapes. He didn't have to ask us twice. We loaded up the kids and we picked. The peaches have a great taste even though they are small. His trees and grapes need some pruning which Michael offered to help him with this fall. The pears weren't quite ripe yet although I did squeeze enough to find a few soft ones for eating. After that, we came home and picked another bushel of tomatoes, some peppers, and a watermelon. I grabbed the cantaloupe because the plant had died, but I think the cantaloupe will continue to ripen. We have yet to get a cantaloupe out of the garden this year. This is our first!My day will be filled with canning jalapeno peppers and tomatoes. I will let the Roma tomatoes sit for a day or two in order to ripen to the fullest then I will make another batch of sauce. I will cut up the peaches and sugar them and freeze them. One family can never have enough frozen peaches in my opinion. I am planning on making grape jelly for the first time in my life. I won't tackle that one today, but maybe tomorrow. I also need to clean the kitchen from top to bottom. It is undone from canning so many tomatoes!!!
grace and peace,
julie
6 comments:
That is a lot of produce!
What a blessing!
I'm interested to know how your grape jelly turns out. That sounds like fun to make.
Happy canning!
Amy:)
Amy,
I'll be sure to post on it. I hate to admit it, but I love Welch's grape jelly so much that I am concerned that mine won't be as good. I grew up on Welch's and some habits are hard to break!!
grace and peace,
julie
You have a beautiful supply of produce there. What a blessing!!! Are the grapes concords?
Marci,
Yes, the grapes are concords. However each cluster didn't all ripen so there are a few green ones on the clusters. I will have to pick off the green ones in order to make jelly.
grace and peace,
julie
How do you prepare your peaches for freezing? Is there a variety of peaches that freezes best or one to stay away from freezing?
Thanks!
Sherry Lynn,
I am not for sure about different varieties of peaches. I just purchase whatever the local farmers all selling. Here is my method:
I peel and slice the peaches. I add some lemon juice to help keep them from turning brown. I then add sugar. I allow them to set out for a while stirring every now and then. The sugar dissolves and makes a nice syrup. I then put them in quart freezer bags. When i make fruit salad, I thaw out a bag and the peaches and syrup are my base for the salad. I use them to make peach cobbler. I thaw out a bag and put them in a baking pan (smaller than a 9x13) that has a stick of melted butter in it. I then mix up 1 cup self rising flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. I pour that mixture over the peaches and bake at 375 for about 35 to 45 minutes until nice and brown and bubbly.
I also use the frozen peaches throughout the winter as a topping for homemade pound cake or angel food cake. My kids also use the peaches as a base for smoothies. They do pour off some of the syrup because they don't want that much sugar in their smoothies. Hope these ideas helP!
grace and peace,
julie
Post a Comment