Canning Pickled Peaches

Saturday trip to the Farmers Market to pick up green beans took a slightly different course... we (my canning assistant, my sweet daughter, Hannah and myself) had stayed up until all hours Friday night and didn't get to the market as early as we had planned... My DH, Hannah's DBF, Hannah and myself made it to market in the late morning, we were on a mission to buy a bushel of my favorite green beans, half-runners... I wouldn't settle for anything else... the half-runners were sold out and gone by the time we got there... Oh, there were round beans, Blue Lakes, bush beans... but to me they all taste like rubber compared to half-runners... there would be more coming in on Thursday, I was willing to wait...

But the mother-daughter canning weekend wasn't over... we found peaches galore... yummy, sweet, local freestone peaches so we bought some (I'll do the beans next week)... and we brought our pickin's home with a quick detour to Rita's Italian Ice for a gelati (my Hannah loves Rita's as much as I do and we make it a point to visit there any time she visits for our favorite mango gelati!) Nick had a peach gelati (fitting!) and DH had a strawberry custard cone... then home to start on the peaches.

Since our plans had changed from beans to peaches, we had a decision to make... do we just do simple peaches in syrup or do we go for something more complicated? more exotic? more of a challenge? We chose more of a challenge with the plan that if there were any leftovers we'd can the rest in simple syrup. Our choice? Pickled peaches!

Here's what we did...

First we washed our peaches then poured boiling water over them so the skins would slip off easily... we peeled and cut the peaches in half... and the fact that they were freestone peaches, the pits came out easily and were discarded.

As the layers of peaches grew in the big stainless steel bowl, we sprinkled Fruit Fresh on each layer as we went along. We peeled and halved until we had 32 cups of peeled peach halves.

We then prepared our pickling syrup...

We tied 4 cinnamon sticks and 4 Tablespoons of whole cloves in a square of cheesecloth, creating a spice bag. In a large stainless steel saucepan we combined 12 cups of granulated sugar, 8 cups of apple cider vinegar, and the spice bag... bringing the mixture to a boil and letting it boil gently for 5-10 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar and allowing the spices to infuse the liquid.

Chopping candied ginger

Next we added the peach halves and 2-3 Tablespoons of chopped candied ginger and brought the mixture back to a boil, reduced the heat and let it simmer for another 7-10 minutes. (I won't go into a slight mishap of a boil-over we experienced because it all turned out good and nothing was ruined... Hey, stuff happens!)

We prepared our jars by placing them in a pan of boiling water to heat up and sterilize. We put our lids and rings on to simmer, keeping them hot until we were ready to use them.

After the peaches had simmered in the pickling liquid (and the boil-over was cleaned up!) we discarded the spice bag and began filling our hot, sterilized jars with the peach mixture, leaving a generous half-inch of headspace in each jar.

We removed any air bubbles and added more hot pickling liquid whenever needed.

We wiped the jar rims and added the lids and rings (removing them from the simmering water using our handy-dandy magnetic jar lid gadget...

 tightening to finger-tip tightness.

We processed our pickled peaches in a boiling water bath... place jars in the canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water... bring to a boil and process for 20 minutes.

We then removed the jars using our jar lifter, set them on the counter to cool and listened for the satisfying sound... the PING of each successfully sealed jar!

There were 3 or 4 peach halves left over, which we sampled... and this is the best description I can give them... fresh peaches taste like summer to me... these delicious pickled peaches tasted like a warm, autumn day... the apple cidery taste, the spices, the sweetness... Sooo Sooo good!

These peaches would make a great accompaniment to roasted meats (especially ham) as well as a sweet snack, or a side dish with bacon, eggs, and biscuits for breakfast.

Birthday Gifts and Canning Brandied Cherries

My youngest daughter called me earlier in the week and announced she wanted to come visit for a day or two this past weekend... Well YEAH!!! Exciting news for me! 

My Hannah (who I sometimes call Hannah-Belle or most of the time, Yanni... don't ask where that name came from, I have no idea but it's what I call her) had recently celebrated a birthday and I had her gift here awaiting a visit so I could give it... she's a real grown-up now... she has moved past her mid-twenties and is on the road to 30... my baby girl!!! It's so hard to believe what a lovely, smart, talented young woman she has become... she should still be "Foah" years old in my eyes but time has a way of moving on.

She has recently become interested in getting back to her roots... she planted a flower garden this year and has plans for a vegetable garden next spring... so I bought her a pressure canner, a book on home canning, and a set of canning tools... and the promise to teach her how to use them. She was excited at the prospect and as soon as she received the book, began devouring it and exclaiming and planning all the recipes she wanted to try... it was a gift well-received and appreciated... made me glow!

Hannah arrived on Friday evening with her sweet boyfriend, Nick, for the weekend visit... we grilled burgers, DH made his famous hot oil salad, and we roasted potatoes for dinner... YUM!

I thought we'd begin bright and early Saturday morning with our canning marathon...

Earlier Friday afternoon I had (at long last after quite a search) found a cherry pitter and purchased it, then on to the grocery store for a few pounds of cherries they had on sale this week... I've been wanting to make Brandied Cherries for some time and now was my chance... and with a willing assistant.

My Yanni was anxious to get started and said "Why can't we do the cherries tonight?" So we did, with plans to do some other things the next day.

Here's what we did...

The recipe called for three and a half pounds of sweet red cherries (we doubled it)

And began the process of pitting about seven pounds of cherries with the new pitter gadget... FUN!

Perfectly pitted cherry!

Once all the cherries were pitted...

We made a syrup of 2 cups granulated sugar, 1-1/2 cups water, and 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (of course we doubled the recipe so this was doubled, you do the math)... we decided to throw a cinnamon stick into the syrup for a bit more flavor and brought the mixture to a boil, making sure all the sugar was dissolved, discarding the cinnamon stick... we kept the mixture hot while we prepared our jars and lids... boiling them and keeping them hot until ready for use...

Once the jars were hot... we added a quarter cup of the prepared syrup to each pint jar.

Next, we filled the jars with our pitted cherries...

Then we added a quarter cup of brandy to each jar...

We then finished filling the jars with more of the prepared syrup, leaving about a half inch of headspace.

Look at the concentration and intensity on my sweet girl's face
LOVE LOVE LOVE her!

We processed our jars of cherry goodness in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.

After processing, we removed the jars from the boiling water (using Yanni's new jar lifter!) and set them on the counter to cool and to wait for that satisfying sound... the PING of each successfully sealed jar.

In all honesty... this time we did NOT hear any pings... by the time we were done with our project and had talked and laughed and caught up with each other's lives... it was 2:30 a.m. and we dragged ourselves exhaustedly to bed... DH woke up about 4 a.m. to, Ummm, well... you know... what else to we get up at 4 a.m. for??? (psst... potty time)... and heard a couple pings... so we all awoke later that morning to a counter full of sealed jars of garnet orbs of cherry goodness.

Can't wait to try it on vanilla ice cream with a little fudge sauce (Black Forest Sundae maybe?)

Pineapple Sage

I found a pineapple sage plant earlier this spring at a local nursery and had to have it, the smell of pineapple coming from a green plant intrigued me. Since we were in the process of moving from an apartment to a house, I left my plant in a pot for easier transporting and it's still there, but I think it's too big now for its pot... I trimmed it back a few days ago and made an extract with some of the leaves...

I chopped up enough leaves to loosely fill a half-pint canning jar, then finished filling the jar with vodka... it's an experiment... and I can't wait to see how pineapple-y the finished extract will become! But with extracts patience is the thing... you have to wait... so I wait...

With the rest of my "trimmings" I popped them into the dehydrator to dry them... my plan is to have dried pineapple sage to add to fish and pork dishes maybe... or to make into a tea.

The Herb Companion says that pineapple sage (botanically known as salvia elegans) will overwinter in Zone 8 (that's where I am!!!) so I'm hoping to get my plant into the ground this fall or next spring. The "Companion" also says this aromatic plant can get up to five feet tall and is actually a shrub. It's also supposed to bloom, with lovely red blossoms that are a favorite of hummingbirds, and are edible. I actually found a recipe using the leaves and the blooms in a Pineapple Sage Pound Cake. Mine has yet to bloom so we'll see about that.

Pineapple sage is said to contain ingredients (thujones, camphor and tannic acids, as well as flavones, phenolic acids, glycosides, and compounds such as salvigenin, rosmanol and the anti-inflammatory agent beta-sitosterol) that help lift the mood and improve the memory, aid in reducing some menopausal symptoms, as well as helping with digestion and heartburn.

I know it smells divinely like pineapples and that's good enough for me! Pineapple sage tea anyone?

Making Peppermint Extract

I'm growing peppermint in a pot on my porch rail... it's easy to grow and if not kept trimmed, tends to get leggy. I trimmed it up today and made some peppermint extract.

It's super easy... here's what I did...

Ingredients:

10 or 12 sprigs of peppermint (I'm guessing here, use what you have)

1/2 to 1 cup vodka

Peppermint keeps growing and bushes out as it's trimmed... smells SO good!

I rinsed the loose dirt and things from the peppermint then spread it on a towel to dry a little. Then I stripped the leaves off the little branches and rough chopped the leaves. This sorta starts the juices flowing a little.

Using clean, sterilized half-pint canning jars and clean, sterilized lids and rings (simmer them for 10 minutes or so and keep hot)... simply put the chopped peppermint leaves loosely into the jar.

Add vodka to about a half inch from the jar rim.

Put the lid on and tighten it, (no need to heat the ingredients or seal the jars) then give the jar a little shake.

Store the extract in a cool, dark place, giving the jar a shake every day for about six-eight weeks.

After six or eight weeks (give or take) the extract is usable... you can strain out the peppermint leaves through a fine wire mesh strainer or cheesecloth.

If stored in a cool, dark place, the extract will keep pretty much indefinitely.

Wouldn't some peppermint ice cream taste good? or add it to chocolate? or make some yummy peppermint candy? or maybe this winter added to coffee or hot chocolate? I can't wait to use this stuff!!!

Canning Granny Pantry

Is this a beautiful sight or what?

It's my new Canning Granny Pantry at the new digs... I'm super excited about it! 

We just moved the Canning Granny Headquarters to the country from an apartment in town and we now have room for this awesome pantry.

Here's how I arrived at this wondrous space... We bought a three bedroom home, moving from our two bedroom apartment and there are only the two of us so we have an extra bedroom for a guest room and another extra bedroom for a hobby/art/soapmaking (yep, we have a small, growing soap business, Southern Heart Soaps and it takes up a LOT of space to store all that soap and the extras that go with taking soap to festivals and market, so Yay for that space too!!) Anyhow... there is a perfect walk-in closet in the room we have chosen as the hobby room, so we took out all the closet-y hanging wire shelves and such and installed heavy duty floor to ceiling shelving and Voila! it's a pantry!

So great to have this space! I've been storing canned goods in all sorts of assorted places in the apartment, mostly in boxes stacked in corners, under tables, you name it... it's so freeing to be able to just open the door and be able to see at a glance all the yummies inside... part of the space is being used for our extra food storage (you know, the stuff from the grocery store that we find on sale and want to stock up on, and rice, beans, sugar, flour and such that we want lots of for various reasons) and the rest is for me to fill to the brim with home-canned goodness. 

This was the first space we've organized in the new place... the rest of the house is stacked with boxes, tools, paint rollers, cans and brushes, we're using the fireplace mantle to store paper towels and flashlights... but by golly the food storage pantry is organized and beautiful!

Here's the newest addition to the Canning Granny Family... Smokey the rescue German Shepherd we just couldn't say no to... look at those sweet eyes! how could you NOT take him home with you I ask! Read about  Smokey's Dilemma and how he came to live at the Canning Granny home here Smokey Finds a Home

We are so happy to have found our new friend!

Sometimes a Granny's Gotta Rant

We bought a new house... we closed Friday evening... DELAY!!! Since we closed after banking hours AND it was a holiday weekend, the funds wouldn't post until Tuesday and the seller wasn't comfortable being liable by going ahead and handing over the keys...SO...

A long weekend with no new house... I was not a happy camper, but understood and sucked it up and dealt with it... We spent the weekend packing and cleaning... on Memorial Day we went furniture "looking" and found the perfect living room suite... so we bought it... a lovely tan leather reclining sofa, loveseat with coffee and end tables... and a really really nice entertainment center on sale... bought it too and scheduled delivery for Wednesday. Things were looking good.

I had to work Tuesday but DH planned to go as soon as he got the call from the attorney and pick up the key, then head to the new house with a load of packed boxes and plans to do some yard work, some work on the well and to schedule appliance delivery. When I got home from work, the plan was to take the paint samples I've been carrying around in my purse for WEEKS, hold them up to the walls, make color decisions then go buy paint, that way we can get most of the painting we plan to do done by the time the movers come... MUCH easier to paint without having to work around furniture and such, so it seemed to be a great plan... and is!

DH waited for the call... and waited... and waited... finally his patience gave out so he started making calls... 

Well my friends... it seems one of the owners (there are two, siblings who inherited the property, one here in town, the other out of state and sending her paperwork in by proxy)... had neglected to sign and have witnesses in TWO different places... sign at the X... how hard could it be, I ask you??? Nevertheless, it happened and now we wait "just one more day" to get the keys...

DH and I have both called several times all afternoon to find out the status of the resolution to this new issue... we've both got recordings saying "*ting...ting... ting... I'm sorry, all circuits are busy, please try your call later" ALL afternoon... can't get through.

So we sit... and wait... and have no way of contacting anyone to find out anything...

Hey, I'm normally a calm, patient person... I follow the rules... I go through the proper channels... 

Right now I'm angry, frustrated, and have no recourse except to sit... and wait... until SOMEBODY gets their ducks in a row and gives me the keys to MY HOUSE!!!

Sorry, folks, I had to get that off my chest before I explode!

And now, I guess I'll put on my big girl panties and deal with it...

As my hero Maxine says... 

"When life pulls you down, it might be time to pick yourself up by your own bra straps!"

Thanks for listening to this ol' Granny have a li'l rant... I feel better now!

Canning Granny Relocation Plan

Welcome to my world!

Well, folks, the time has come for the Canning Granny Kitchen Corporate Headquarters to relocate.

We're going back to the country where we belong, so for the next couple of weeks there will not be much, if any, canning going on. And there won't be much blogging as I'm certain you dear readers don't care to hear about packing millions and millions of boxes, furniture shopping, appliance shopping, well-chlorinating, lawn mowing, garden layout, wall painting, gravel spreading, curtain choosing,... back aching, rubber legs, sore feet... Whining Granny!

Yesterday I packed our coffee cups, the plan was to leave two out along with the coffee pot... Yep! this morning I made coffee, went to pour it, and wouldn't you know it... I had packed all but ONE cup! Had to dig through and locate ONE more!

We closed on our rural location Friday (Yayness!) but due to the lateness in the day plus a holiday weekend, we won't be able to pick up the keys until Tuesday... Oh the pain of waiting, I feel like somebody gave me a birthday present, then told me I couldn't open it!

So I continue to pack... there's a maze of boxes meandering throughout the house... maybe I should have drawn a map to the front door, it's growing farther and farther away... or maybe I could have put a piece of cheese there seeing as we are now the mice in this maze, maybe we could find it by sniffing it out! 

Anyhow, enough of this silly nonsense... the goal is in sight, our mini-farm-to-be awaits, and the canning shall commence... and I'm super excited about the new pantry I have planned, and am looking forward to the increased workspace in the new kitchen... Yay to the Yayness! 

Here's a glimpse of where I'll be working soon... Yes, I'm stoked!

For now, I must add another segment to my ever-growing mouse maze! and hope I can find the front door.

Back to canning soon... blueberries will be in soon, and peaches, and green beans, cucumbers (PICKLES!!)... Oh my gosh! I better get packing!