More food. And then more food.

I just made watermelonade.  I think it needs more mixing with actual lemonade, but it’s pretty tasty for being just blended, strained watermelon with some lemon juice and a pinch of salt.  I was supposed to add sugar, but these watermelons we’ve been getting are so sweet there’s just no point.  I have, however, had quite enough of watermelon for the most part.  We’ve received four in our local food box - Enough Already!  There’s really only so much watermelon a girl can eat.

But this is not really about watermelon.  This is about a different fruit, the peach.  Remember when I posted those pictures of driving out west of here?  Well, I actually made that trip in order to get these:

What’s that you say?  You can’t see the lovely produce well enough?  it IS pretty, isn’t it?  So here you go:

I got all these peaches and tomatoes in order to can them. Guess how long it took me to peel all those peaches and tomatoes?  Somewhere around 3 and a half hours.  Plus about four more to get everything else boiled, chopped, peeled, cooked, and processed.  But that’s not the whole reason this is yet another story of How Miriam Is Nuts.

The real reason is that I canned not only peach preserves (2 quarts) but also tomatoes (1 quart), peach salsa (1 quart) and peach jam (2 pints).  It has all been very tasty. HOWEVER, let me tell you about lesson number One about a small kitchen and multiple recipes:  DON’T DO IT.  It would’ve been fine if I’d stuck to two.  Three would’ve been way too many.  Four was ridiculous.

With me, nothing can be simple (much to my husband’s eternal dismay).  I tend to make things into a giant, messy production, and I was really lucky that on this particular Sunday that these were canned, I was really lucky that my Mom was staying the night.  Without her help, I would’ve been up s*** creek without a paddle, as the saying goes.  But as the other saying goes, all’s well that ends well.  That’s my motto and I’m sticking to it (for now).  Recipes after the break.

Canned Tomatoes

Per quart: Parboil tomatoes 6-7 large tomatoes in boiling water and remove skins and stems.  Cut into halves or quarters.  Put tomatoes and their juice in a pan with 1/4 to 1/2 cup water.  Cook until soft.  When done, pack into quart-size canning jars with 1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp  (or 1 tsp of each for a pint-size jar).  Process for 15 minutes.

Peach Salsa

Per quart: 2 cups peeled, diced peaches. 2 cups peeled, diced tomatoes. 2 small jalapenos, diced and seeded.  1 medium onion, chopped. 2 cloves elephant garlic, minced. 2 tsp coriander. 1 tsp black pepper.  1 tsp cilantro. 1 tsp ground mustard. 1 tbsp salt.  2 tbsp apple cider vinegar.

Combine all ingredients in a pan and cook until vegetables are tender and flavors combine.  Pack into pint or quart jars.  Process for 15 minutes.

Peach Preserves

Per quart:  As many peeled peaches as will fit, split in half with stones removed.  Add peaches to a pan with 3/4 cup sugar and 2 cups water.  Cook peaches until tender.  Pack peaches in pint or quart jars and pour liquid over them.  Process for 15 minutes.

Peach Jam

First step is to make peach pulp.  Peel and split peaches, removing stones.  Using a potato masher (metal works better), mash peaches until they are completely crushed, reserving juice.  If you must use a food processor, make sure most of the lumps are out and have 1 package of pectin on hand for each pint.  Processing peaches destroys their pectin (as I found out the hard way).

For each 2 cups of peach pulp, add 1 cup of sugar and 2 tbsp of a half peach/half lemon juice mix plus 1/4 tsp ginger and 1/4 tsp cinnamon (or to taste).  Add ingredients (and pectin, if necessary) to a pan and bring temperature up very gradually to medium-high, stirring constantly to avoid scorching the sugar.  Cook over medium-high heat until jam “tears” off the spoon and mixture is frothy - if it doesn’t set up, try adding pectin!  Once soft set, remove from heat and let stand 3-5 minutes, continuing to stir gently to dissolve foam and keep from scorching.

Add to jars and seal.  Process for 15 minutes.