Making Peach Jam

Spent the afternoon with my cousin Gay who was teaching me how to make peach jam. Of course, this is just a glance over on some of the techniques involved. Most of them can be found in cookbooks or on the insert of the “Sure Jell” package.
http://www.kraftbrands.com/surejell/home.aspx

First thing you have to do is get the jars and lids. You can’t used the seals more than once. After you’ve bought your tools the only thing you’ll have to purchase year after year are the seals.
For this recipe we mixed 4 1/2 lb. finely chopped peaches, 2 Tsp fresh lemon juice and 3 cups of sugar and one package of Sure Jell.

Start by boiling the water to sterilize the lids and jars. Set the timer for 10 minutes.
While you are doing that chop the peaches, transfer them to a pot and bring them to a boil.

Next add the Sure Jell and 1/4 cup of the sugar.
Then add the rest of the sugar, stir and cook.
Now add the peaches to the jars. You can get this funnel at the grocery store or discount store such as Walmart.

Make sure the lids are dry before topping the jar. Submerge the filled sterilized jars into a pot of boiling water to cover (about 1 inch).  Jams in pint size jars take 10 minutes and quart size jars take 15 minutes to process.  Carefully lift out with jar lifter and cool.

While the jam cools the lids will pop and that means they are sealed. Wait a week before enjoying your jam.
Jarred food will keep in the pantry for up to a year.
I was lucky enough to walk away with a jar of peach jam, mango and tomato chutney and Bread & Butter pickles.

Gay only started this last summer with the pickles and has become quite good at much more. This makes a wonderful Christmas gift so start now and make someone’s Christmas Merry.

Basil Simple Syrup

I discovered yet another way to store some of the basil in the garden. Basil Simple Syrup.
Take one cup of sugar to one cup of water and simmer until the sugar is dissolved.

Take off the stove and place a handful of washed basil into the pot.
Stir and cover until cool.
Put the syrup into a bowl and cover to refrigerate overnight.
The next morning strain the syrup into a jar or container to store for up to 3 weeks in your fridge or make ice cubes to store in the freezer.
You can make ice tea or lemonade with this but you can also marinate strawberries and make an ice cream topping - which I did and it tasted delicious!

It also makes the most wonderful cocktails.
This Cosmopolitan recipe from Sarah Begley of The Miscellany News caught my eye.
Basil Cosmo- 2 shots vodka- 1 shot basil-infused syrup - Cranberry juice to taste
Combine vodka, basil-infused syrup, cranberry juice and ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake and strain.

Kelly and Tanya were my official Cosmo testers this evening. They both thought it was yummy. Kelly thought a squeeze of lime would be good so I'll try that next time.
Enjoy and Cheers!

Pizza Butter

So I’m here trying to figure out how to make flavored butter. I thought I’d make some tomato butter since I have so many tomatoes.

I start out by putting some butter (yes, the real stuff) out to soften. Now I’m thinking I’ll stew some cherry tomatoes, pull the skin off and cool it down before adding some basil. That sounds good. So here I go.
I put the cherry tomatoes into a sauce pan and start cooking them without water. As they pop open I removed the skin with tongs. Soon all I have is the juicy insides. I cook that until most of the juice is steamed out. Then I get a brilliant idea. I added some cheese to the tomatoes (Parmigiano-Reggiano) and blend them together. I’m now making pizza butter.

Next I finally chopped about 6 leaves of fresh basil, some fresh oregano and minced garlic to mix with the butter.
Getting excited? I am.

I spread my “Pizza Butter” on thick slices of bread and fry it. Next I added some tomatoes and basil from my garden. Lastly I decided to add some mozzarella. This tasted so good. I got just a hint of all the flavors and the fresh stuff on top made it oh so yummy.

Then I had a thought. What if I added some “Pizza Butter” to pasta. Yep, just as tasty.
I had to think of a creative way to store my new invention. I decided to make a sandwich bag into a pastry bag by filling it with butter and cutting one corner off. I dolloped the butter onto parchment paper and put the tray in the freezer. Once frozen I can store them in a container and only take out the amount I want to use.

I used salted butter so I didn't have to add any extra salt. This was really fun. Maybe next time I'll make some cinnamon honey butter. Then I'll have to make some pancakes.

Broccoli Salad

Here is one of my favorite recipes for broccoli. I got this from a cookbook called “Southern Celebrations” by Kathleen Howard Rambo. It’s a great salad to bring to a picnic or pot luck. I make it so often that when I pick up the book it falls open to this recipe.

Broccoli Salad
1 large broccoli head
1 cauliflower head or broccoli head
1/2 cup golden raisins
3 green onions, peeled and chopped
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 cup walnuts, pecans or peanuts
1 carrot, grated
1 (6-ounce can Mandarin oranges, drained
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

photo credit: CK Worley

Cut broccoli and cauliflower into tiny flowerets to measure approximately 6 cups and place in a bowl with raisins, onions and mayonnaise.
Measure out sugar and vinegar and place in microwave on high for 2 minutes, or place on medium heat on stove to dissolve sugar. Mix well and add to broccoli. Prepare nuts and carrots and place with salad. If making a day in advance, nuts and carrots should be set aside to keep from discoloring cauliflower. Before serving salad, mix prepared ingredients together and layer in bacon and oranges. (Tossing oranges might cause breakage.) Makes 8 to 10 servings.

photo credit: CK Worley

The time is fast approaching to plant winter vegetables so even if you’ve never really liked or planted broccoli, this salad may change your mind. Remember that broccoli likes sandy (not sand - sandy for drainage) slightly acidic soil and full sun. Vegetables taste so much better when you’ve grown them yourself.

Jalapeño Poppers

Remember my Father’s Day blog? We planted a Jalapeño pepper in one of the pots that we put around the grill. Now our one plant is really producing and I just wanted to give you my go to recipe for peppers. Jalapeño peppers can cost over $3 a pound at the grocery store. Growing one plant will give you plenty of peppers for a minimal cost.

First thing is to wash the pepper, slice it down one side and seed it. The pepper will give off fumes that will make you cough so the best thing to do is to seed them under water. This will help. Once the peppers are seeded you must wash your hands! If you rub your eye afterward without washing your hands you will never do it again. Ouch!

Dry the peppers off with a paper towel. Next stuff each one with cream cheese. Don’t overstuff. The cream cheese will absorb the pepper and bacon taste. Yum.
Next take a half strip of bacon and wrap it around the stuffed pepper. You will need a toothpick to hold the bacon in place.

Now you can place your peppers on a cookie sheet with a rack and heat them in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Take them out and turn them over. Finish cooking until the bacon is nice and crisp, about 15 minutes more. You can cook these on the grill as well but use tin foil with a few small holes in the bottom for drainage.
We love to serve these as appetizers but you can also make them a side dish. So delicious. The heat mostly cooks out so the flavor is wonderful without the burn factor.

I’ve heard that you can freeze these but I’ve never done that. Makes sense though and since Jalapeños are so expensive it would be good to use them up and not waste any. I think I’d cook them half way through before freezing. Then I'd take them out - thaw and finish them in the oven for holiday parties.
You can use them on pizza (had one of those in Houston) or in my June 17 blog you’ll find Jalapeños in my salad recipe. Make sure to save the seeds for next year in a dry cool place. That saves money as well.

Houston Trip- A 400 year old tree and other plants.

We made a quick trip to Houston and I couldn’t resist taking some photos. I couldn’t believe how tropical Houston was. Hotter and more humid than Atlanta - that's for sure. This yard had some unique aspects and I wanted to share them with you.

Moss Sedum is a great ground cover. It’s drought proof, evergreen and beautiful. Takes full sun and loves heat and humidity.

Making a trellis with wire on a wall is a wonderful way to train a vine into a architectural element.

Using your lawn shelves effectively is a wonderful way to accent your plants and bring a vertical component into your garden.

Limes anyone?

White Christmas Caladium and Cast Iron Plants can tolerate deep shade.

This oak is said to be 400 years old and has support cables holding key limbs in place. It spans two yards.

It was fun visiting another part of the United States and seeing how plants react differently in them. For instance, I did not realize that limes grew in Houston or that oaks got so big and sprawled out so far. This is another way gardening can be so enjoyable.