Preserves!!

Sue and George came to visit this week and while they were here I heard that the peaches were ripe at Shelburne Orchard so we went to pick a few. We may have overdone it a little because we ended up with 12 pounds of peaches! Some got eaten right away, some got sent on to mom and dad, but I was still left with almost five pounds of peaches. Which is a whole lot when you can't eat fresh fruit. I asked a friend for help and got this recipe for peach preserves.

4 pounds of peaches: peeled, pitted, sliced

1 package powdered pectin

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

7 cups sugar

Combine all in a saucepot. Bring to a boil, stirring gently until the sugar is dissolved. Boil 1 minute. Ladle into jars (can or freeze).

Seemed easy enough so I brought all the fixings out to the farm to get help from Laura (and because it just seemed right to make preserves at a farm).

Laura suggested par-boiling the peaches to get the skins off quickly and easily so I checked the Joy of Cooking for instructions. I love that book, it gives the most basic instructions in detail.... which I need.

In the end it was really easy. I made 5 pints of preserves and had a bit left over in the pot which we ate while still warm over ice cream.

I won't know until it all cools if it successfully gelled but it's tasty already anyhow.

You can expect to get some the next time I see you :)

I also got a recipe for peach butter that I'd like to try but have now run out of peaches. I may have to pick more.

Kitchen Sink Tempeh

A favorite staple here at the farmhouse is what I like to call "Kitchen Sink Tempeh" because it's seasoned with everything but the kitchen sink. We like to get the Rhapsody Tempeh but we've also used the LightLife organic three grain tempeh. First cut it into strips less than a 1/4 inch thick. If you've never used tempeh before don't be put off if there's some black on the uncooked tempeh; it doesn't mean it's gone bad.

Put olive oil in a frying pan on low heat and place the strips of tempeh in the pan in a single layer. Flip them immediately and drizzle a little sesame oil over top. Then add the rest of the ingredients as the tempeh cooks. No, I don't have measurements of how much to add, just sprinkle and dash to taste. We use:

Apple Cider Vinegar

Braggs Liquid Aminos

Lime Juice

Ground Mustard

Garlic powder

Honey

Salt and Pepper

Cook the tempeh flipping occasionally until brown and crispy looking on the outside. Here's Julie with a perfectly browned piece.

How to use it? We put it with rice or quinoa and cooked veggies. Or even better as a burrito with beans, onions, sour cream, salsa, and cheese. Now that the weather is nice enough we've been doing more and more out on the second floor back deck including eating dinner and playing Rock Band!

Judy and Jason's Birthday Brunch

I woke up at the wee hour of 9 to dig through recipes looking for a good potluck brunch item.  I didn't want to do eggs because of my nack for poor time management in cooking.  So I picked this mushroom tart from Martha Stewart.com. 

Shiitakes have tough inedible stems that should be removed. For white mushrooms (called button when small), cremini, and portobellos, trim the spongy tip; the rest is edible.

Prep: 45 minutes
Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 4

• Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
• 1 (from a 17.3-ounce package) sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package instructions
• 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 packages (10 ounces each) white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 packages (10 ounces) fresh baby spinach
• 2 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place the pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score dough to form a 1-inch border. Using a fork, prick dough inside the border every 1/2 inch. Bake until golden, rotating pan once, about 15 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, toss onion with 1 tablespoon oil. Season with salt. Cover and cook over medium heat until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir. Continue cooking with cover on for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, heat remaining oil. Add mushrooms; cover and cook until tender and all liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Fold in spinach; season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook until wilted, about 5 minutes more. Drain any liquid.
4. Top dough with mushroom-spinach mixture. Scatter onion and goat cheese on top. Bake until cheese is lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

This was my first experience with puff pastry.  I remember mom used to put tuna in the puff pastry cups and as I've never been a fan of hot tuna, I avoided the puff as well.  The recipe says to use a fork to prick the inside of the border.  Does that mean within the one inch border or in the center of the tart?  The pastry was hugely puffy in the oven before adding the goods.  So, I guess I pricked it wrong.

Tad looked in the oven and said "Oh, good we're taking pizza."  It's a damn tart.  $20 at the grocery for a fancy pizza.  Arrived at the brunch, "Oh, that's a good looking pizza."  It's a tart.   "Do you want a pizza cutter.  It might cut it better."  No, cause it's a tart.  Once the kids saw it, and picked off the goat cheese and the added sun-dried tomatoes from their pieces, it was clear to me.  This is a $20 pizza.  Gone in 10 minutes but definitely a pizza.