Ohio Country Journal: peach butter

Who We Are

The past few years, the area where I live, Crawford County, Ohio, has seen a wonderful explosion of younger families who are embracing the joys and challenges of living off the land. Because of them, amazing things are happening which have been embraced by our community. Farmer’s markets have been created and on-farm stores have opened. Families dedicated to growing organic produce and naturally raised meats are meeting the public’s needs for locally raised foods. And at the heart of this movement are the women.

Ohio Country Journal is my attempt to share the essence of farm life, focusing on, but not limited to, women. My goal is to bring you into our circle of friendship by inviting you to share your stories and experiences with us. You don’t have to be a full time country woman to benefit from joining us; you just have to be you.

The full-time country women featured in Ohio Country Journal are an inspiration to anyone who dares to follow her dreams, whether it is to live in the country or to bring the country life-style to their urban neighborhoods.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Peachy Keen

I have been up to my elbows in peaches today. To start my kitchen session, I made a peach crisp.

To make the crisp, I put the slices in a square baking dish, drizzled honey over the peaches, and topped with the same topping that I use for apple crisps.

While it was in the oven, I continued to peel and slice peaches for other uses. After the crisp came out of the oven I had errands to tend to and a small amount of work for the Galion Inquirer, so the sliced peaches got shoved into the fridge...but not for long. Those peaches are soon to be turned into peach/pear salsa and peach butter.

****True Confession****

I've never made peach butter, but decided to make it this year because I think it is healthier than jam, which uses a TON of sugar. I looked several recipes up online and, once again, after understanding the method and ingredients, decided to make my own recipe.

Most recipes say to cook the peaches and then run through a sieve to get that nice, smooth texture. However, my NutriBullet blender was right at eye-level when I was peeling the peaches, and an idea crept into my brain: why not run the peach slices through the blender, then add sweetener and spices? Sounds a WHOLE lot easier to me...what do you think? (check the "agree" box).

So that is what I am off to do as soon as this blog blab gets published.

My plan: puree the peaches in the NutriBullet, heat the puree on the stove, add honey and cinnamon.

Batta Boom....DONE!

*S*W*E*E*T*

Marcheta *off I go, into the wild peachy yonder

Monday, August 5, 2013

Apples and Peaches and Pears.....OH MY!

Today I hit the Fruit Trifecta jackpot! Which, is not a bad place to be.

Today's work includes picking Wealthy Apples, freestone peaches, and Red Bartlett pears for tomorrow's NorthSide Farmers Market. Denise came out to help, but the crop is just coming so it did not take us long.

I am really disappointed in the size of our fruit this year. I thought all the rain that we had would make large fruit, but now I am wondering if lack of sun caused the fruit to stop growing. One thing that I do know, so far everything I've "taste tested" is very, very good.

On Wednesday or Thursday, Denise and I are planning to make peach butter and other goodies. I've never made peach butter so asked Denise about it. She said that basically, you just cook down peaches and mush them up, like you do for apple or pear sauce. She does not add sugar, but I am thinking that a touch of local honey (ours!) and a bit of apple or pumpkin pie spice would be nice. I won't know until I try it, and I am really looking forward to our cooking day!

Marcheta *busy, busy