Peach goodness in a jar . . . .

We bought two cases of peaches from a truck that delivers to the local fire hall once a year, and have been enjoying the juiciest, most delicious Colorado peaches imaginable.  I have now used one case of “seconds” for peach jam and worked on a couple of recipes to arrive at a new combination.  My first batch from a recipe I found online is wonderful, however with the addition of brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice, the jam is a dark amber color, closer to apple butter than peaches.  I wanted to capture the beautiful golden color of the peaches and decided I needed to chop the fruit finer to have lots of little peach bits suspended in the jam.

I used a potato masher on the first batch, and had to flip the jars for 24 hours to keep the larger bits of peach from rising to the top, leaving only juice jam in the lower half of the jar. This second batch was chopped much finer in my food processor and I revised the recipe with different spices and all-white sugar to arrive at the golden peach color I was seeking. I am pleased with the small peach bits suspended throughout the jar of jam.

I reduce the sugar in jam recipes by 30-40% and have found the flavor is more “fruity” and less sugary, which is the way we like it.  The addition of habanero peppers gives the jam a subtle flavor that warms the tongue with pleasant heat.  Braise 1-inch pork chops on grill, place in glass baking dish and pour 1 cup peach jam over chops.  Bake in 325 degree oven for 30 minutes – yum!

Golden Habanero Peach Jam

7 lbs. peaches peeled, chopped fine (about 8 cups)

3/4 cup bottled lemon juice

9 cups white sugar

5 habanero peppers stemmed, seeded, minced fine

1 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp tumeric

2 Tbs. vanilla

11 Tbs. low sugar/no sugar pectin powder

Put chopped peaches, lemon juice, sugar, peppers and spices in large non-reactive pot. Bring to rolling boil, spooning off foam.  Add pectin, stir vigorously and bring back to boil. Remove from heat, add vanilla and stir.  Spoon into sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space, wipe rims and place lids. Process 10 minutes in boiling water bath, remove and cool on a towel for 12 hours.  Enjoy!

Flavor in a jar . . . .

The subject of peaches came up recently.  Peach pie, peach cobbler, peach jam, peach smoothies, peaches and ice cream, and finally, just plain peaches, eaten fresh with juice dripping down your arm.  Conversation about Grandma Rose’s peach cobbler sent me to find a crusty, faded scrap of paper where I had tried to capture her recipe as she assembled a cobbler in her kitchen.  I have made this cobbler many times, and I think she would be proud that I managed to come close to hers.  I especially like that it cooks on the stove and I don’t have to heat the oven on a hot day.

Grandma Rose’s Peach Cobbler

10 ripe peaches, washed, peeled and sliced in 1″ chunks

1 cup of water

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. corn starch (I measure heaping Tbsp. if peaches are real juicy)

1 tsp. cinnamon

Place peaches in a round 10-inch pan with lid (I use Mom’s old pan that is 5″ deep with a domed lid adding 1″ to allow for room for the dumplings).  Add water, lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon, bring to a boil on stove-top. Stir corn starch in enough water to make a smooth paste and add slowly to peach mixture, mixing in a little warm juice to dilute. Continue stirring to avoid lumps in juice.  Cook peach mixture over medium heat until juice has thickened.

Dumplings

1-1/2 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

dash salt

3 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Add approximately 3/4 cup milk to make stiff dough

Mix all dumpling ingredients until moistened and dough has a tacky texture.  Drop in large spoonfuls on the top of boiling peach mixture, completely covering peaches. Put on tight-fitting lid and reduce heat to low.  Cook for approximately 30 minutes or until dumplings are puffed high and fully cooked.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.  Heavenly!

for the cookie monsters . . . .

There is no doubt I’ve eaten hundreds of these over my lifetime.  These were a favorite cookie that my mother baked and if I ate a few hundred, she must have baked many thousand!  Made with old fashioned rolled oats, breakfast cereal, coconut and chopped walnuts, they are packed full of healthy ingredients.  How can you go wrong having this cookie for breakfast?

I rediscovered them by chance on an outing last summer.  A friend brought a container of them for us to share and the minute I bit into one, I knew it was my mother’s Ranger cookie.  When I expounded on the merits of this delicious cookie (and knocked off three of them in no time) my friend graciously agreed to send along a copy of her recipe.  In the interim, I was able to locate several speckled and spattered copies of Mom’s note cards with the ingredients she used. When I compared the two recipes, I noted they were exactly alike except for two features: 1) My friend’s recipe was for “School House Ranger Cookies” and called for Corn Flakes; and 2) Mom’s recipe was simply entitled “Ranger Cookies” and she made hers with Rice Krispies.

To be fair to Mom, I made several dozen with the Rice Krispies for a family gathering and they disappeared like I knew they would.  I recently baked 10-dozen of them and put them in the freezer.  We take out a few at a time, warm them slightly in the microwave and they are heavenly!

Ranger Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. soda

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups Rice Krispies

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Sift flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Mix in cereal, coconut and nuts.  Blend dry ingredients into creamed butter mixture.  Roll dough into 1-1/2 inch balls, place on oiled baking sheet.  When baked, cookies will be approximately 3″ in diameter.  Recipe makes 60 cookies.  They store and freeze well.

Flu vaccine . . . .

Our favorite chicken soup has evolved over time into a fairly foolproof dish that can be assembled in little more than an hour.  Rather than start with a large roasting hen, which requires cooking, removing meat from the bones, and making stock (I used to do this one day ahead of soup making), a practical shortcut is boneless, skinless chicken breasts. With all the colds and flu making the rounds, it seems like a good time for a big pot of chicken soup!

3 large onions, chopped

6 stalks celery, sliced thin

10 large carrots, peeled and sliced

4 Tbsp. olive oil

2 bay leaves

10 cloves garlic, sliced thin

3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh ginger

1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1 cup frozen peas

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 – 32 oz. boxes organic chicken broth ( or 7 –  14.5 oz. cans)

1 – 9 oz. pkg. fresh fettuccine noodles, cut in 3″ pieces

salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet with lid, saute chicken breasts in 2 Tbsp. olive oil.  Cover, reduce heat and poach for 30 min., turning once.  Remove from skillet, cool and tear or chop into bite-size pieces. Meanwhile, add 2 Tbsp. olive oil, onions, celery and garlic, saute in skillet until softened.  Pour onion mixture into 8-1/2 qt. soup pot, add chicken broth, bay leaf, sliced carrots, chicken pieces, noodles and salt and pepper. Bring to boil, simmer 20 minutes.  Add frozen peas, parsley and fresh ginger.  Cook additional 10 minutes, serve with crusty loaf of French bread and your favorite wine.  Makes 12 servings.