An interesting link about local produce.

At least in Georgia, if all residents ate $10 of local produce per week, it would mean billions in local economy.

Check this link out.

Cheers!

Peaches, tasty peaches

I am finally taking the time to post what I made with that huge box of peaches from last weekend.

First off, while I enjoyed Gardner Farms, I would do something differently when/if I go back for peaches. They essentially poured the peaches from the picking bucket into the box. I would move them myself next time. They moved them so fast that most of them got at least a little bruise which caused ~25% of them to mold before I got to them. If I had placed them in the box myself, individually rather than by pouring them, I think the number would be closer to 5%.

Anyways, I proceeded to make peach salsa. Unfortunately, I could not find the recipe I used last year. Most peach salsa recipes are for a peach base, whereas the one I used last year was about half tomato and half peach based. With that in mind, I made my own recipe and then proceeded to pressure can it. It could probably be done with a boiling water bath, but this ensured that it would be ok. Here is my recipe:

Peach Salsa

8 cups pureed peaches

8 cups pureed Roma tomatoes

4 large red peppers (pureed)

2 green poblano peppers (pureed)

3 green habanero peppers (pureed)

6 tbsp local honey - in Georgia, my favorite is Tupelo honey.

1.5 tbsp cumin

2 tbsp granulated garlic

1 tbsp cayenne pepper (dehydrated and made from last year's garden)

1 cup vinegar (half white, half apple cider)

3 bunches of cilantro

1/2 cup sugar

Puree all things that begin large, and stir together. Cook together until it is the consistency of a thinner salsa. Pressure can in pint jars at 15 lbs pressure for 15 minutes. This made 11 pints for me. Cooking down more/less will change the amount you get.

A note on the tupelo honey, from wisegeek.com

Tupelo honey includes table and baking grades of honey made from the blossoms of the tupelo gum tree, nyssa aquatica. Thetupelo gum tree grows in flooded forest areas in states such as Florida, Louisiana, Georgia and Virginia as well as along the Mississippi River, but tupelo honey is mainly only produced commercially in areas along the Choctawhatchee, Apalachicola and Ochlockonee rivers. Tupelo honey made from the white tupelo gum tree, nyssa ogeche, is top quality table honey and is valued for its uniquely delicious flavor and its inability to granulate.

We bought some local Tupelo honey a few years back at a festival from a local honey producer. It is amazing in its taste and flavor, and we haven't bought much else in the last few years. This will be something that we will miss when we leave the south.

I also made peach Barbecue Sauce. I used the recipe in the Big Book of Canning/Preserving, and it is the only recipe online that I could find. It made about 5 pints and came out a little spicy. I think my homemade cayenne spice gives more kick than most store bought cayenne.

Today, I picked up some Georgia Peaches (and more tupelo honey!) at the Farmer's Market, and a pie is in the oven. I'm taking it with me to share tonight at a thing for work. I'm sure we will all enjoy it.

I'm back, and just in time for the good stuff!

A long trip to Arizona for work... but I'm back!

So, while I was gone, the first two tomatoes ripened. They are an heirloom variety called 'Striped Cavern'. I stuffed them with sauteed peppers, onions, fresh (from the garden) basil, and corn, baked at 400F for about 10 minutes, and we enjoyed stuffed tomatoes. We served it with rice, broccoli, and italian soysage. Tasty. [Sorry if my one word sentences bother you.]

When I got home, two more yellow squash were ready, with a white scalloped squash not far behind. Another 1/3 of a gallon of green beans... with a new big harvest probably next weekend, when I will likely can a batch. The onions are almost ready to die... it has gotten too hot for them. Dang. So, tomorrow or the next day, I will have to dig them all up, freeze some, use some with the beans or squash, etc. I love onions, even if they are small.

This morning I went to Gardner Farms in Locust Grove, which is less than 40 miles from home. They have a pick your own for peaches, blueberries, and blackberries. Unfortunately, blackberries were getting in season when I left, peaked while I was gone, and are gone from pick your own farms in Georgia now that I am back. But on a happy note, Kroger had a sale on Georgia grown blackberries this week. $1 for 6 ounces of berries. I bought 5 containers, and already made some sugar free jam (same recipe as the strawberry mentioned previously, but using blackberries instead).

I picked peaches (they sell a 4.5 gallon bucket for $12, which is WAY cheap). When I called to see what they had today, they told me it was the last day for pick your own peaches. I then decided to go immediately... so quick I forgot to bring cash. Fortunately, there was an Ingles down the road and I got a fresh Georgia watermelon for $4, with $30 back to get peaches, blueberries, and shop in their little store.

I also picked blueberries. I am not a huge fan of blueberries, and I am not sure why. For me, they have to be the really big juicy ones that are really fresh, or I'm just not at all interested. They were mainly for my sweetheart, and for $4, I got about a quart or so of berries, and as she and I do not like them baked in anything, frozen, or anything but maybe mixed with yogurt, that was more than enough.

They had a little "roadside" stand, where I bought 4 good sized cucumbers ($2), a medium sized eggplant ($1), and a small basket with two bell peppers and a bunch of banana peppers (50 cents). I think that was a great deal for about $20.

So, all in all, this is all the local produce (minus the watermelon) that we have right now...