Colorado Peach Butter *with a kiss of Vanilla
Ingredients: 3 1/2 lbs fresh peaches 1 3/4 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 vanilla bean, split open 2 tsp vanilla bean paste 1/4 cup water 1/8 cup bottled lemon juice, plus 3 teaspoons Directions: Wash peaches in cold water to remove dirt and fuzz. Cut an X mark on the stem end of each peach. Blanch peaches in boiling water for about one minute. Plunge peaches in ice water and let set for two minutes. Peel away skins, slice and remove the pit. **If your peaches are fully ripe - the skins will be easy to peel off using a paring knife - I sometimes luck out and can do this without blanching. To me, peaches are ripe when you can press the flesh with your thumb and leave a slight indentation into the peach. Once peeled, slice and pit your peaches. Place sliced peaches, lemon juice, vanilla bean and water in a large sauce pot. Simmer over medium heat until peaches are soft (approx 5-10 mins) Remove vanilla bean. Lightly puree peaches with a food processor or immersion blender - being careful not to liquefy them. Add the sugar into peach mixture. Cook over medium heat until thick enough to round up on a spoon (approx 30-40 mins.) Stir in the vanilla bean paste. Stir mixture frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking. (you will be lightly stirring continually as mixture starts to thicken until you are ready to jar the butter) Prior to jarring, I do the "plate test" by placing a small dish in the freezer for at least 10 mins. I place a spoonful of peach mixture onto plate and tip plate - mixture should not run at all. As well, the mixture should mound/round up easy onto a regular spoon and not run off back into pot. Wash jars in warm soapy water, rinse and place in canning pot/water to warm up jars for canning. Place lids and bands in warm (not boiling) water. Setup your area to process the butter. Ladle hot butter into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch head space. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe rim of jar to remove any food particles. Adjust two piece caps on jar and tighten finger tight. Process in a water bath canning pot for 10 minutes (or according to regs in your area) Remove and place on cloth towel in a draft free area. Do not move jars for 24 hours to allow for proper seal. Any jars that haven't sealed properly place in fridge for immediate use. Date and Label your jars, Peach Butter will keep up to one year in storage. Yield: 4 half pints. Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home
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We love this bread. Super easy to make and usually the first loaf someone makes when wanting to learn how to bake bread. no fancy kneading, no fancy rise times or yeasts needed (other then the beer) Perfect for Fall, Football and Oktoberfest! ~Enjoy! Diane
Cheddar Beer Bread Ingredients:
Directions: Mix all ingredients together, mixing in beer last. Batter should be the consistency of Bisquick. Spoon into a well greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees (f) for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let bread rest in it's pan for about 10 minutes then let it cool on a rack for another 10 or so. If you can wait that long! Recipe & Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home Spiced Watermelon Rind Pickles
Ingredients: 4 quarts prepared watermelon rind 3 tablespoons Pickling Lime 3 quarts water 8 cups granulated sugar 1 - 2 jalapenos, thinly sliced, optional 1 quart white vinegar (5% acidity) 1 lemon, thinly sliced 2 tablespoons whole cloves 3 sticks cinnamon (3-inch pieces) 2 pieces ginger root (1-inch long), optional 1 -2 Tablespoons peppercorns, optional 1 bulb garlic, thinly sliced, optional Directions: Wash jars in hot soapy water, rinse well. Sterilize by boiling for 10 minutes hold jars in hot water until use. To prepare watermelon rind, trim dark skin and pink flesh from thick watermelon rind. Wash and cut in 1-inch pieces or as desired. Dissolve lime in 2 quarts water in a food-storage container. Pour over rind. If needed, add more water to cover rind. Let stand for 2 hours at room temperature. Drain and rinse several times to remove all lime. Put rind in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to boil. Simmer (approx 30 mins) just until tender enough to easily pierce with a toothpick, and drain. Tie cloves, cinnamon, and ginger in cheesecloth bag. In a large saucepan, combine spices with sugar, vinegar, remaining 1 quart of water, garlic, and lemon. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add watermelon rind and simmer until rind is translucent (approx 45-60 mins.) Add boiling water if syrup becomes too thick before rind is done. Remove spice bag. Pack rind into hot jars Add syrup leaving 1/2-inch head-space. Remove air bubbles and wipe rims. Adjust lids and process 10 minutes in a boiling water bath canner or according to your local regulations/altitude. Yield: 7 pints Recipe & Photos by Guest Poster: JD Provence for Canning and Cooking at Home I first decided to make this back in 2012. We love it to this day and everyone "gobbles" it up! I love that you can chose your vegetables and go from there. Some call this 'chow chow' but, I stick to the name Ball gives it: "Hot Pickle Mix" because the horseradish gives everything in the jar a nice little "bite" ~Enjoy! Diane
Hot Pickle Mix {aka Chow Chow} You can make any combination you like... FILLING: Green beans cut, parboiled Bell pepper slices, raw Broccoli flowerets, parboiled Cauliflower flowerets, parboiled Carrot slices, parboiled Celery strips, raw Cucumber slices, raw Mushrooms, parboiled Okra, blanched Onion pieces, blanched Zucchini slices, raw Green cherry tomatoes, raw *********** BRINE: 1 tsp. salt per qt. jar 2 cloves garlic per qt. jar 5 peppercorns per qt. jar 1 hot pepper per qt. jar 1/4 tsp. mustard seed per qt. jar 1 sm. piece fresh horseradish per qt. jar Select any combination of the above vegetables. Wash and cut into uniform size pieces. Leave vegetables raw or cook as suggested. Pack vegetables in colorful layers in clean, hot sterilized jars. Add salt, garlic, hot pepper and remaining seasonings to each jar. Mix equal parts of heated water and white vinegar and pour over vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch head space; seal with lids and rings. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes. *Or according to regs. in your area. Recipe Adapted from: Ball Blue Book of Canning Photos by: Diane Baker for Canning and Cooking at Home Today I am sharing a guest post with you all. This Watermelon Jelly comes from JD. He is fortunate enough to have a watermelon farm near his place, down in Texas. This is the first year that I ever had the pleasure of eating a slice of yellow watermelon. JD had mentioned that he grew up eating orange, yellow and the traditional pink/red watermelons that we see... I honestly always thought he was joking - until last week when my own grocery store was carrying yellows! They are super sweet too. I can say that I never knew how traditionally 'set in my ways' I was until eating a piece of yellow watermelon...my chunks of freshly cut yellow watermelon looked more like the pineapple I just cut up then anything else...my taste-buds disagreed but, my eyes kept arguing. In this recipe, JD used an Orange watermelon to make his jelly. I think it looks fantastic and he says the taste is fantastic too. Just keep in mind that using 2 boxes of pink box pectin is needed for this recipe to set properly... ~Enjoy! Diane Watermelon Jelly
Ingredients: 1 Quart watermelon juice, strained ~ JD used an orange watermelon 3.5 Cups sugar 3 Tablespoons lemon juice 2 Boxes Sure Jell, you must use the pink boxes. Directions: In a large pot, bring juice to a slow boil, add lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar (or other sweetener). Keep this separate from the rest of the sugar. Slowly add the pectin/sugar mix to the pot, bring back to a boil, stirring frequently, to prevent burning and sticking. Bring to full rolling boil, that cannot be stirred away. Add remaining sugar, bring back to full rolling boil, for 1 minute. Fill prepared jars to within 1/4" head-space, wipe any spilled jelly from threads and rim of jar, place on lid and screw on band, to finger tight, using only thumb and index finger. (DO NOT OVER-TIGHTEN!) Place jars in water bath canner and process for 10 minutes (or the appropriate amount of time for your elevation.) Remove from canner, place on towel or rack and allow to cool, in a draft-free area, undisturbed. Check for seal. Clean jars, Remove rings and store in refrigerator. Why?! Yes, the refrigerator and not your pantry. There is no known/tested recipe for canning Melon. While JD's pH meter showed his to be safe after processing, we want to ensure your safety and ask that if you make this jelly, you store in the refrigerator for consumption. Recipe and Photos by: JD Provence for Canning and Cooking at Home Makes approx 5 ~ Half Pints |