Frozen Peach Cocktail

Peaches are my favorite fruit this time of year! 
If you have a peach tree or want to pick some up at a local farmers market, here is a great way to enjoy those fresh peaches all year!

 Frozen Fruit Cocktail

Heritage Cookbook

This makes an amazing "Paradise Peach" smoothie! 

Just take out of the freezer and thaw slightly, then blend! YUM!

3 lbs. (12 med.) peaches- (I double or triple the peaches.)

2 c. sugar- (I cut back the sugar to 1 c.)

1 lb. of seedless grapes (optional)

1- 15 oz. can of crushed pineapple with the juice

½ c. lemon juice

1 ½ c. orange juice

Place sugar, pineapple and juices into a large bowl and stir to dissolve sugar. Peal (do not blanch peaches, when thawed they go brown.) and slice or dice the peaches into the juice mixture stirring often to keep peaches from browning. Laddle into Ziploc bags, or freezer containers and freeze. Yum! One quart Ziploc bag will serve 6-8 people. (Depending on if they are little or big the people how much they like peaches!!! :)

Pear Butter

simpleandsavy.blogspot.com

Fruit Butters are preserves  made from fruit puree and often have added spices.

They have less added sugar and do not require pectin, making them more economical. 

They spread well on breads (thus the butter term)  
and are usually used in the same way as jams and jellies. 

6 cups of ripe, washed, peeled, halved and cored pears

1-2 cups water (the more water the longer it takes to simmer out.)

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon ginger.

Place pears and water  in a large pot, cover and bring to a boil on medium high heat.  Cook until pears are soft. Remove pears from liquid and place in a blender or food processor. (You may want to cool slightly), or use an immersion hand blender to blend pears into a smooth puree. Add sugar and ginger and simmer open kettle until reduced to a thick, spreadable consistency, about 2-3 hours.

Place in freezer containers and freeze.

Or fill clean pint or half pint jars and process in a boiling water canner for 20 min. after the water in the canner returns to a boil.

Pick Pears Green!

simpleandsavy.blogspot.com

It is time to pick pears. Most of the pears that grow in our area are picked around Labor Day.

Pears are picked green and ripen to yellow off the tree. If they are left on the tree until they turn yellow they are usually brown and rotten around the core. 

Make sure to handle pears gently. Do not drop or throw them into a bucket or box or they will bruise and rot.

Place them in shallow boxes and do not stack too many layers on top of each other or the bottom pears will bruise and rot quickly. Cover with a layer of newspaper to help them ripen together if you are going to can them.

Look for delicious ways to use this delicious fruit from tree in our neighborhood or a local farmers market this month.  If you have more than you can use share with a neighbor or friend!

European Pear Salad

simpleandsavy.blogspot.com

Use up those pears growing in our area with this healthy and flavorful salad! 

It is one of my favorites!

1 head of Romain lettuce cut into bite size pieces or one bag of European greens

1 cup of fresh pears sliced

3 oz. sugared chopped nuts*, (Sliced almonds or chopped pecans are great!)

3 oz. of Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

light raspberry vinaigrette (any kind works great)

Combine all ingredients together. Garnish with pears, and nuts. Drizzle with vinigrett just before serving.

*To sugar nuts place nuts in a frying pan with 1/4 cup of sugar and cook over medium heat until sugar melts onto the nuts. Watch closely so that nuts do not burn. When golden brown remove quickly from pan onto wax or parchment paper to cool.

Apricot Syrup

from the kitchen of: Christi Jardine- Stake Provident Living Leader

I adapted this recipe from a recipe from Winifred Jardine's,  Mormon Country Cooking.

Here is another great way to use those yummy apricots. 

If you think you don't like fresh apricots, try them cooked! 

They have a completely different and tangy flavor.

Give them a chance and you'll be hooked!

4 cups pureed fruit

1 cup of water

3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

2 cups of sugar

1/2 teaspoon of butter or margarine

Wash apricots and remove pits. Place apricots, water and lemon juice in blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a large pot (make sure it is at least double the size of the pureed apricots, because they boil up as they cook and it will boil over!). Bring to a boil over medium high heat and boil for 5 min. Add butter to reduce foaming. Remove from heat and skim remaining foam.* Pour into canning bottles and process. Makes 3 pints. (I usually double it to get a canner full).

For Utah (high altitude): process 20 min. for pints and 30 for quarts.

*The foam makes great syrup also! Eat it now and save the bottled syrup for later. Apricot syrup in the middle of a cold winter is a great little taste of summer!

Apricots

 by Christi Jardine, Stake Provident Living Leader

As I walk or drive around our stake area I see so many beautiful apricot trees laden with an abundance of fruit. Apricots are full of vitamins A & C as well as many minerals such as potassium. They are also a great source of dietary fiber. Try some of the great recipes found on this link to enjoy the apricots that are so plentiful right now! Try the Apricot Bavarian or the Chinese Apricot Chicken or any of the other healthy, and delicious recipes on this site!

www.califapricot.com/recipes.html 

If apricots just aren't your thing or you won't be able to use all of them please share with your neighbors or ward members. There are usually enough apricots on one tree for several families! Try announcing in Relief Society that you would like to share. It is much easier to pick fruit than it is to clean it up off the ground! :)

simpleandsavy.blogspot.com

Check out this great nutrition article by Joseph Crammer, M.D.  

Just another reason to eat our fruits and veggies!

The-pain-of-calorie-rich-malnutrition-in-the-United-States

Preserving Your Garden Produce

It is a great time to bottle, freeze, dry, or pressure can your garden fruits and vegetables! Utah State University Extension Service is a great source for up to date food safety information when preserving vegetables and fruits.   Here is their website: 

           

extension.usu.edu

There are a variety of publications in pdf format that will be helpful. Here are just a few:

• Principles of Boiling Water Canning
• Timetables for Canning at Altitudes of 3,000 to 10,000 Feet   
• Avoiding Common (Major and Minor) Canning Mistakes
• Bottling Salsa in a Boiling Water Bath
• Principles of Pressure Canning
• Vegetable Canning Methods in the Pressure Cooker
• Preserving Pole and Bush Beans
• Preserving Zucchini
• And many more.  The “Preserving” publications have specific bottling, freezing, pickling and drying information that is safe and up to date. This is a great resource!

Local Farmers Markets and Fruit Stands:

Here are the times and places of the closets Farmers Markets in our area! Take advantage of the delicious and nutritious, local fruits and vegetables. 

Holladay Harvest Festival Days

in front of Holladay City Hall (4580 S. 2300 E.)
Saturdays – August 20 through September 10
4:00 – 8:00 PM

Murray City Park, 200 E. 5200 S.
Fridays and Saturdays 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
July 29-Oct. 29, 2011
(801) 233-3010

Pioneer Park, 379 S. 300 W.

Saturdays 8 a.m.-1 p.m.
June 11-Oct. 22, 2011

Tuesdays 4-8 p.m.
August 9-Oct. 25, 2011

The Gateway Mall - Salt Lake City
Wednesdays - 4-8PM
July 7 to September 1

South Town Farmers Market
10400 South State Street
Sandy, Utah
August 3-October
Friday & Saturday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

 Park City at The Canyons Resort Parking Lot

Wednesdays, 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

June-October

Brigham City Fruit Stands

Highway 89,  Brigham City

Find Farms and Orchards where your family can pick your own fruit and vegetables at:

www.pickyourown.org/UT.htm

*Share fruits and vegetables with your neighbors and ward members.  Have sisters bring excess produce to your week day Relief Society Classes to share!