Saturday, July 25, 2009

Peach Butter...



We've been gone on our annual ocean trip, so I apologize for the lack of posting. We did stop in Fairfield, Texas along the way and bought a peck of peaches from Cooper Farms. Today I made some peach butter following the directions found on this website. Here's a pic of it cooking in the good ol' crock pot:



I ended up with six jars of peach butter! I'm so excited to learn to make this because it's one of my favorite biscuit toppings! My next challenge will be pumpkin butter! Yummy!

In the garden, we've got tomatoes, okra, yellow squash, and cucumbers coming in like crazy! We're up to a reasonably predictable 3 eggs per day, but we lost one of our hens...Shirley...to a heat stroke (we think). She died on a day when it was 107 degrees outside. Per the girls' request, we buried her out back with a cross and everything.

If any of you have an amazing pickle recipe, please share! I've canned up several batches of dill and bread & butter that have been a bit disappointing.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello, I am going to try the peach butter recipe. I also lost a chicken due to a heat stroke. Almost lost one yesterday but, I was outside yesterday and witnessed it happening. I went over and picked up the rooster it was happening to and set him down in a water bowl. Spent a minute being calm holding him in the water bowl telling him all would be alright. I then got up and he remained sitting in the water bowl for a few minutes. When he got up he was better and made it through it.

Carmen S. said...

Hi there! I'm new to your wonderful blog and will definately have to try this, thanks for sharing:)

Daphne said...

I make dill refrigerator pickles in the summer that are slightly sweet and spicy:

Refrigerator pickles

* 4 cucumbers or however many fit in the jar
* onion (not a full one just some slices)
* 2 hot peppers halved
* 1 clove garlic sliced
* 1 slice fresh ginger
* 1c vinegar
* 3/4c water
* 3T sugar
* T salt
* dill sprigs, lots, however much you want I usually try for 1/3c
* t dill seed

Just a few of each of the following or pickling spice, but I just make my own since I have most of the things in it anyway.

* whole mustard seed
* whole cloves
* whole allspice
* small bit of cinnamon bark
* bay leaf crumbled
* peppercorns
* coriander
* mace not ground

Actually a lot of the spices are optional. I add it if I have it. If you want it sweeter, add more sugar. If you want it saltier, add more salt. It always turns out differently. But to finish off. Put it all in a clean glass jar and shake until all the salt and sugar is dissolved. Yup I don't cook it at all if I'm doing refrigerator pickles. They turn out very crispy this way. They are ready in about a little over a week if the cukes are whole, or three days if you slice them in some way. I'll keep adding to the jar until it is full with pickles (make sure the pickles are always covered), then let them sit while I start another jar. Yummy. I love summer pickles.

BTW though I make them as refrigerator pickles, they have enough vinegar in them to can (I usually see 1:1 vinegar to water as the limit). Then you should boil up the liquid before pouring into sterilized jars.

Dandelionmom said...

I have my grandmothers 7 day sweet pickle recipe that takes forever but never disapoints--always yummy and very crisp--I have lost your e-mail though and it's kind of involved for a comment ;)--if you like the old-fashioned sweet pickles and a kitchen that smells like sweet vinegar for a week-let me know and I'll e-mail it!

We have not topped 80 in 2weeks now-the maters are really showing the need for some heat!

jenna said...

i have never had peach butter, sounds amazing. good to know that there is a peach crop in TX, i'd heard that between the weird winter and hot summer yields were low...very jealous of you peck of peaches. today we were at HEB and they had tx peaches, they were lumpy and ugly. the boys went over to the perfectly round CA peaches and wanted those instead. good time to teach them that often the ugliest produce tastes the best!

Amanda @RusticRemnants said...

Oh I've never tried peach butter, sounds yummy. I just made some strawberry butter for the first time and it was great. Took forever to make though, ugh.