Peach Pie Filling – Batch #1

The local produce guy sent out an email alerting me to a big sale on peaches!  They are ripening too fast – they say – so the 24 # boxes are only $12.00!!!!  It was my birthday and it was raining but we headed out to score some of these bargain peaches ASAP.  We bought two boxes (48#??) so today I had to sort them and decide my plan of action.  First I just heated a big pot of water to boil.  Dipping the peaches for a mere 30-60 seconds loosens the skins such that they just slip off.  A batch of peach pie filling ( see recipe on the “Recipes” menu)

Whether you’ve grown your own or are the recipient of CSA shares, you’ll want to preserve as much of the nutrients as possible so you can enjoy the bounty throughout the winter.  It is a sad state of affairs to witness the increased interest in eating local food and vegetable gardening,  without a corresponding increased interest in learning to preserve the nutritious vittles.   Of course, being a locavore requires learning how to preserve the season’s bounty or go without local produce for the rest of the year. 

Check out the National Center for Home Food Preservation website for all you need to know! http://www.uga.edu/nchfp 

Be careful with private sites that share “creative” food preserving recipes.  It is always best to err on the side of safety!!  Stick with safe, lab-tested recipes, especially when preserving low-acid foods such as meats & vegetables.  Even tomatoes have safety issues because their pH is borderline.   

After spending a few hours with coffee and the Sunday paper, Tom and I hiked “the butte” –   Pilot Butte is an efficient exercise routine for a lovely morning!  One mile up – one mile down.  Afterwards, Tom watched news programs and football while I harvested various vegetables from the garden.  Beets were separated from their greens before being boiled until a fork tender.   The greens from the beets and turnips were blanched and shocked before getting stored into freezer bags.   I even dried some greens.  Turnips were sliced and steam blanched for freezing – some were just sliced for dehydrating.   Carrots got sliced , steam blanched & shocked before freezing and drying.  The corn from yesterday was split fourways.  Some for a great corn salad ( corn, apple cider vinegar, sat, pepper, onion – then just before serving add fresh basil), some for the freezer, some for the dryer and some to eat with tomorrow night’s dinner.  I am forgetting something. I’m sure.  The big job of the day was covering the frost sensitive plants!  The local forecast is for 34 tonight – we cover when it says it will be 38 or below because our garden has a very cold micro-climate.  The forecast includes high winds so we are hopeful that our flimsy covers will not blow away overnight.

I will demonstrate a variety of food preservation techniques you can use at home to save the local produce.  We’ll demonstrate making and preserving a batch of jam; blanching vegetables and pre-treating fruits for freezing and dehydrating; and pressure canning a vegetable.  Participants will leave with a good understanding of food safety issues surrounding preserving foods as well as tips to ensure high quality and nutrition.  Everyone goes home with the confidence to preserve at home and a jar of jam.   

 Class size is limited and costs $35.00. Call Allyson’s Kitchen at 541-749-9974 to register

For more class information visit www.AllysonsKitchen.com

The garden is brimming with nutritious vegetables.  Today I picked a bunch more green beans which I steam blanched to ready for the freezer.  My corn plants still have no ears so we bought a dozen from the local guy.  After blanching them, I am storing the ears in the fridge to wait until I have more energy tomorrow.  The squash is coming on fast so I’ll be making my ratatouille tomorrow as well. 

After hosting the Central Oregon Master Gardener BBQ, I realized that I was not careful enough to be sure my shoulder surgery was not compromised.  It is more sore now but I’ll wait to worry too much until I see the orthopedic surgeon Tuesday.

Made more pints than I had originally planned to can

This mandoline is the best

The dill is coming on really heavy at the moment.  There is nothing ready to pickle from my garden so I bought some cucumbers to pickle today.  The recipe is is the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving.  pg 302 Dill Sandwich Slices.  It says to slice the cukes lengthwise , but I like them sliced crosswise instead.  The mandoline is wonderful for making quick work of slicing large amounts of produce in consistant 1/4 inch pieces.  It is stainless steel and was very – very expensive but it appears that it will last forever.

 I bought 10 pounds of cukes so there was enough for a whole batch of regular whole quick dills too.  We love these pickles on pulled pork sandwiches with horseradish sauce! YUMMMMM!!

Waiting for the harvest

The garden is finally looking like it will yield a sizable harvest this year!  Last count was 140 tomato plants.  There is no sign of aphids on the Brussels sprouts yet but the moths are busy laying eggs on the cole crop vegetables.  Every other day I sprinkle bT on the freshly watered plants so that the larvae don’t end up eating the whole garden!  My Master Gardener training tell me that bT is a natural biological pesticide – organic?  Anyway – before I used it there was nothing left of my cabbage once the worms took over!  The peas are about finished and I’ll be picking beans and zucchini next week.  I am slowly regaining use of my shoulder since my rotator cuff/tendon/acromion surgery in June.  Hopefully I will be able to preserve the bounty without issue!