Peach-Rosemary Freezer Jam

Once upon a time, there was a wife who talked her husband into buying a little patch of land with some peach trees on it. There were four peach trees: two yellow fleshed and two white fleshed. This wife had always dreamed of having her own peach trees, ever since she was a little girl "helping" her Nana can the peaches from a backyard tree.

When the first season came around, the wife watched, entranced as blossoms came with a multitude of honeybees earnestly going about their work. And when the blossoms set fruit, she rejoiced over each hard green marble. And as the season went by, she mourned the necessity of thinning such an abundance of fruit. And then one day, she walked out to check on the fruit of her labor and was rewarded with this sight:

Big, beautiful, aromatic, juicy, delicious fruit. And then she looked at the four trees and went, "Oh, my, but that's a heck of a lot of peaches."

And, indeed, it was. And so the canning began. And continued... and then continued some more.

But then one day, the wife and her husband got orders from the military: "Thou shalt sell your beloved farm and move to the suburbs in Florida." And so they did... leaving those beautiful peach trees behind.

Fortunately, Georgia peach country isn't that far from the panhandle of Florida. There's a fruit stand in town that sells the things and isn't ashamed to let a box of cast offs go to a gal for a decent price. I got this fifteen pounds of slightly blemished peaches for only five bucks. This box made seven 8-oz jars of jam and eight pints of cut peaches in syrup. Not a bad deal! Fortunately, when making jam, you can simply cut around all the bruises.

I made this jam once before in a cooked variety and it was decent, but I left the rosemary in too long and once the peaches lost their "fresh" taste when cooked, it just wasn't as good. However, when I tried the combination this time as a freezer jam? Heaven! The subtle aroma and flavor of the rosemary just adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the peaches. It may sound weird, but I urge you to give it a try!

I used the peach freezer jam recipe from a box of Certo liquid pectin. All I really did differently was add two four inch springs of rosemary to the fruit and sugar and let it sit a while, stirring periodically. I tasted every so often and continued to let it sit until the flavor was just right. When is it just right? Well, when it tastes good to you! It took my fruit about an hour to infuse to the level of flavor I thought right. Use your best judgement! Once the fruit tastes right, remove and discard the rosemary sprigs.

Add the pectin and lemon juice as instructed on your package and put into containers. I prefer jars, but you can use whatever floats your boat. Such a pretty hue! And oh so tasty!

Peach-Rosemary Freezer Jam
Yield: 7 or 8 cups
Adapted from the Certo Liquid Pectin Insert

2 3/4 cups finely chopped peaches
6 1/2 cups sugar
2 pouches Certo liquid pectin
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 4-inch rosemary sprigs

Remove the peel in a boiling water bath and pit and chop into small pieces. While working, toss finished pieces into a water bath with some lemon juice or fruit fresh to inhibit browning. Drain and measure out the fruit and add to the sugar. Stir together. Add the rosemary sprigs and let sit, stirring occasionally, until the peaches have a nice, subtle hint of rosemary, about an hour.

Remove the rosemary sprigs. Mix the pectin and lemon juice together and let them sit for ten minutes. Add the lemon pectin mixture to the fruit mixture and stir continuously for three minutes. At this point, the mixture should only have a few sugar crystals remaining.

Pour the jam into prepared containers, leaving a half-inch of head space for expansion as the jam freezes. Let the jam stand at room temperature until it is set, up to 24 hours. Freeze until ready to use. Thaw in the refrigerator before use.

Strawberry Topping

I just love this time of year. In many areas, strawberries are one of the first real fruit crops of the season, and it always gets me excited about things to come. While strawberries are undeniably at their best fresh out of the field: warm, sweet, and juicy, they just don't keep long fresh. Fortunately, there is an easy and delicious way to enjoy strawberries year round. If preserved properly, strawberries can come out of the freezer tasting very much like they went in. There's nothing better than enjoying strawberry shortcake in November or strawberry topping on waffles with whipped cream in January.

The first step is to rinse and cut up the berries. Remove any overly ripe parts and rotten spots. Remove the stems and cut into roughly nickel sized pieces. For every quart of prepared berries, squeeze about half a lemon's worth of juice into them. Please note that all of the measurements in this process are very loose; simply taste as you go to be sure it's right for your palate.

Then add some sugar. For a quart of berries, I use between half and one cup of sugar typically. But, again, it will always vary depending on the sweetness of the berries. One point to keep in mind, however, is that you don't want to skimp too much on the sugar. The sugar helps thicken the topping and keeps that beautiful red color vibrant. Use too little sugar and you may be a bit disappointed in the results.

Stir the sugar in and then gently crush the berries with your hands. Do not use any mechanical means to complete this step. You do not want the berries pulverized, just gently crushed. This step helps the berries to release more of their juice and also damages the cell walls in the strawberries enough that freezing the topping will no longer change its texture or structure much.

Don't crush things too much. You still want some nice sized pieces in there. In this image, the topping is sitting in a large serving spoon which is about three inches long. Look at all that delicious syrup that's developed!

At this point, spoon the mixture into freezer containers. I like square ones like these (I picked mine up at Wal-Mart a few years ago). Be sure to leave a half-inch at the top of the container so the mixture can expand as it freezes without making a mess of your freezer. Just as an FYI, this batch of twelve pint containers was from one flat of strawberries.

When you are ready to use, you can defrost them in the refrigerator, on the counter, or in the microwave (just go gently!). Spoon over cakes, ice cream, waffles, or oatmeal. Use to make the best daiquiris or margaritas ever or use to make a delicious smoothie. Or defrost only enough to get a spoon in there to scrape out frozen bits and serve over your favorite cold cereal or as a frozen dessert with whipped cream.

What I love most about putting these little containers in the freezer is that they are so darn versatile!

Fudgsicles

Well, I have good news and I have bad news. Which do you want first?

The good news is that I have come up with a fabulous recipe for a low calorie, chocolaty, delicious frozen treat. They're like Fudgsicles, only better. The bad news is that they are so good, you may not be able to only eat one. Yesterday, I had one after breakfast, one after lunch, and one after dinner. What? You never heard of having a dessert after breakfast?

Now, growing up, my folks provided me and my brother with wholesome, healthy fare. The only time we got sugar cereal, for instance, was as an occasional treat that we were only allowed to eat as a dessert... after dinner. So, it might not come as any surprise that I can still remember the moment in my life when I had my first Fudgsicle. It was field day in elementary school. Fourth grade field day, I think. It was like heaven on a stick.

But I've grown up a bit now and while I still appreciate a chocolatly, frozen treat with less than 100 calories, I like my food to be a little more au naturale, if you know what I mean. Here's the ingredient list for Popsicle brand Fudgsicles: nonfat milk, sugar, corn syrup, whey, high fructose corn syrup, water, palm oil, alkali cocoa, tricalcium phosphate, mono- & diglycerides, cellulose gum, guar gum, malt powder, salt, polysorbate 80, polysorbate 65, carrageenan.

That ingredient list starts out okay, but doesn't end so great. My version? Milk, sugar, alkali cocoa, whipping cream, cornstarch, gelatin, vanilla, and guar gum. I have become fairly smitten with guar gum. I use it all the time now. It's a great natural additive (a powder from a bean grown in Pakistan) that can help with texture and consistency in all kinds of applications.

The first thing you need to have on hand is unflavored gelatin. You'll need a little more than one packet. I buy mine in the food service container and simply measure out a tablespoon.

Unflavored gelatin needs to be softened in cool liquid first, so sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and let it sit until it is all moistened and has expanded. You may need to stir the liquid a bit to get it all to soften.

Pour the gelatin and milk combination in to a heavy bottomed sauce pan. I used a 2-quart pan. Add the vanilla and stir. Sift together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and guar gum and then add to the milk. Stir until incorporated and then heat over medium until the mixture just starts to come to a simmer. It will not be overly thick, but it will sure taste good! Remove the pan from the burner and set it aside to let it cool. Stir occasionally to keep a film from forming on the surface.

While you could use either alkali or regular cocoa powder, I think the flavor of the alkali version gives a slightly better end result. Alkali cocoa powder has simply been treated with alkali to reduce cocoa's acidity. I think, in this case where the chocolate is not competing with any other flavors, the alkali version is smoother.

Once the mixture has cooled to room temperature, whip three tablespoons of whipping cream. It's such a small amount, that I simply whip it by hand in a small bowl. Add it to the chocolate mixture and then pour the liquid into your popsicle molds. I like these ones that I purchased from Amazon. This recipe should fill all ten molds. As you can see in the picture, I use clothes pins to keep the sticks straight and from going to far into the popsicles. Place the mold into the freezer and let freeze until the popsicles are hard. Unmold by running the outside of the mold under warm water. I wrap my popsicles in wax paper and tape closed. If you think your popsicles will stick around more than 4-5 days, I recommend also placing them in a bag or other airtight container.


Fudgsicles
Yield: 10 popsicles
Nutrition: less than 100 calories and less than 10 grams of sugar per bar

3 cups 1% milk
1 TBS unflavored gelatin, such as Knox
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup alkali processed cocoa powder
2 TBS cornstarch
1/4 tsp guar gum
3 TBS whipping cream

Soften the gelatin by sprinkling it over the cold milk. Add the vanilla and stir. Let mixture sit for five minutes.

Sift together the sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and guar gum. After the gelatin is softened in the milk, stir in the powdered mixture. Stir to combine.

Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture just comes to a simmer. It will not be overly thick. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Stir occasionally to keep a film from forming.

Whip three tablespoons of whipping cream to stiff peaks and stir into the chocolate mixture once it is cool. Use a whisk to make sure the whipped cream is well incorporated. Pour the chocolate mixture into popsicle molds and freeze until hard. Unmold and wrap in wax paper to store.

NOTE: Nutrition information is based on the published nutrition information of the ingredients.

Zucchini Bread

I'm bitter that I am still without a garden. We're making progress and I should have my raised beds in place in time for a fall/winter garden. That's one nice thing about living in the deep south: you can garden year-round. Fortunately, I still have produce put up from when I was gardening a third of an acre.

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that everyone jokes about in the summer. Have you ever had so much that you were giving it away and then you gave it away so much that your friends had to ask you to stop leaving on their doorstep in the middle of the night? If so, I have an answer for you! Grate it and freeze it. I am still making delicious zucchini bread from zucchini I grew the year before last. It still works and tastes great!

The recipe I use for bread requires 2 cups of grated zucchini, so I put 2 cups of fresh grated zucchini in freezer bags, expelled all the air I could, and put them in the freezer. When I want to use some, I simply thaw it out and use it as is. What you'll see is that freezing has destroyed the cellular integrity of the squash, but for this application, it doesn't matter. See how it doesn't look like two cups anymore? Don't worry. Just pretend that it is still 2 cups and proceed. Just don't drain off the liquid that comes out when it's thawed or your bread will turn out on the dry side.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Then mix together the eggs and sugar and beat until it is nice and thick. Add the oil and vanilla and beat again until you have a nice thick batter that leaves a ribbon on itself.

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate, small bowl. I love the combination of the cinnamon and zucchini. Whoever originally thought of that combo deserves some recognition!

Add the dry ingredients to the batter along with the grated zucchini. Try not to mix more than is necessary to thoroughly combine the ingredients. Set the batter aside while you prepare the pans.

In my experience, even when using non-stick bakeware, this bread does not like to come out of the pans cleanly. To combat this problem, I spray the inside of the pans with cooking spray and then line the bottom and two sides with parchment. Loaves can be easily and cleanly lifted out of the pan every time!

Pour the batter into the pans. This recipe will fill either 2 - 8x4 inch loaf pans or 4 mini-loaf pans. I prefer using the mini-loaf pans because it allows me to pull out smaller amounts at a time from the freezer (I usually freeze three of the loaves for future use). But the bread turns out beautifully in either size. Regardless of the size you use, evenly distribute the batter between the pans.

Bake at 325 degrees F for about an hour for full loaves and about 45 minutes for minis. You'll want to start checking them early as there is nothing worse than over baked zucchini bread. My favorite part of this bread is the top crust. It is sweet and crunchy with a hint of spice.


Zucchini Bread
Yield: 2 - 8x4 loaves or 4 mini-loaves

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Beat the eggs and sugar together until they are thick. Add the oil and vanilla and continue beating until thick again and batter leaves a ribbon on itself.

In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients and grated zucchini to the batter and mix thoroughly. Divide batter evenly into either 2 8x4 inch loaf pans or 4 mini-loaf pans that have been sprayed with cooking oil and then lined with a strip of parchment. Bake minis for about 45 minutes and full sized loaves for about an hour. Be sure to start checking loaves early for doneness and remove from the oven as soon as a tester comes out clean. Let cool for five minutes before removing from pans.

Roasted Garlic Cubes

You ever noticed how many recipes call for roasted garlic? And every one of them then includes directions on how to roast a single head for that recipe. Who has time for that? It pretty much takes the same amount of time to roast one head as it does to roast twelve; why not make things more efficient?

It amazed me, the first time I made these cubes and had them in the freezer, how often I found a use for them. They are so stinking convenient! Want to add a nice shot of mellow garlic flavor to soups, stews, sauces, etc.? Just pull a cube out, nuke it for ten seconds in the microwave and voila! You're good to go.

As I mentioned, I tend to roast about ten to twelve heads at a time. This usually lasts me a good while and I only have to go through this process once - maybe twice - a year. The first step is to preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Then line a baking pan with foil. Cut the garlic heads in half so that each clove is exposed. Then put them, cut side up in the baking pan.

In my experience, based on how the garlic cloves are put together, its best to cut your bulb not quite in half. What I mean by that is to cut is so that the top "half" is larger. The bulbs are held firmly together on the bottom of the bulb, but this is not the case on the top. I've found by giving the top side a bit more substance, it holds together better. I also cut off the pointy top before I cut them in half as that allows the bulbs to sit more evenly in the pan.

Drizzle the heads with olive oil and close the foil tightly. Roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes at 400 degrees F or until the cloves are tender and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and let them sit to cool until they are easily handled. At this point, unless you are okay with your hands reeking of garlic for the next five years, you'll want to don some gloves. I keep a box of vinyl first aid gloves in the kitchen for this and other tasks. All you need do is squeeze the cloves out of their hulls. They should pop right out.

While you can do this next step by hand, it goes much faster in a food processor. Process the bulbs with just enough olive oil to make a nice, smooth paste.

Then spoon the paste into molds of some kind. You could use ice cube trays (just be sure they are designated "garlic freezing" trays as they will forever smell of garlic after this use), but I usually use mini-muffin tins. To make it easier to get the cubes out when frozen, I line the tins with plastic wrap, spoon in the mixture and then place more plastic wrap over the top. Freeze until frozen solid, pop out of the trays, and place into zip top bags for storage. Here's one last important tip: you'll want to double bag these suckers - they really have a potent aroma!!

Again, any time you're ready to use some, simply thaw in the microwave for a few seconds. Make these once and you'll be amazed how often you find yourself using them. And every time you come across a recipe that asks you to spend forty minutes roasting a single bulb of garlic, just smile to yourself and save thirty-nine minutes, forty-five seconds!

FYI: I've found that for mini-muffin tins, one cube equals about half a bulb of roasted garlic.

Waffles

I love waffles, but I really don't love dragging the waffle iron out on a regular basis. Fortunately, I can get away with getting my waffle iron out once every couple of months and still enjoy waffles on a regular basis. Waffles are the perfect candidate for convenience freezing. Making your own freezer waffles allows you to have the convenience of the store-bought version without the nasty taste (sorry if you actually like them; I personally think they are a travesty).

When I do get around to making waffles, I simply make a big batch and then freeze all the left overs. Whenever I want a quick and easy breakfast (or snack, for that matter), I just pull out the toaster. Three minutes later, I am enjoying delicious, homemade waffles.

Just as a heads up... I don't know if you were aware, but traditional waffles are not waistline friendly, to put it mildly. The first time I looked at the nutritional profile of the waffle recipe I use (from Better Homes and Gardens), I was shocked. No, I was aghast. A single serving of waffles claimed over 700 calories!! I couldn't believe it. I was so disappointed and sad thinking that I might have to relegate waffles to the "only for special occasions" category.

I decided to fight back, though. After realizing that the majority of the calories must come from the cup of cooking oil, I wondered if all that oil was really necessary. Good news! It's not. I cut the oil down by half and still enjoy the results immensely and I'm sure that you will, too. Because there is so much milk in this recipe, it also makes a difference what type of milk you use. If you are watching your calories, you can use lowfat or even skim milk.

One of my biggest pet peeves with waffles is when they don't make complete waffles. Who wants three-quarters of a waffle? And then the syrup or honey always falls through the cracks. That's just no good at all.

It takes some figuring since you don't want the opposite problem of too much overflowing, but eventually you can figure out just the right amount of batter needed for your waffle iron. I also find it helps to not simply pour the batter into a big puddle in the middle of the iron. I pour mine in an "X" pattern and slightly smooth it before closing the lid. I still get a little overflow, but I prefer that to the incomplete waffle. You may not have this pet peeve, and - in that case - ignore this last paragraph of silliness.

After cooking the waffles, I let them cool on a rack. On the left in this picture, you can see the most recent, still intact waffle cooling. On the right of the rack are the stacks of already cooled waffles. After they are fully cooled (important if you don't want a bunch of condensation in your packaging), I place them in a bread bag. I can fit 12 to 13 per bag. I suck the excess air out and close them with a twist-tie.

This recipe makes about three bags worth. That's including the eating of 2-3 waffles on the day they're made. I just can't help myself! If you're going to go to the trouble of making waffles, you might as well enjoy some fresh.

A word of caution, place the bags into the freezer right away. If you leave them on the counter too long, they start to soften and smoosh, leaving you with an unsightly leaning tower of waffles.

When you are ready to use the frozen waffles, simply place them into the toaster still frozen. Just keep an eye on them! They reheat and crisp up very quickly.

Waffles
Adapted from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book
Yield: about 3 dozen single waffles

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 TBS baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Do not over mix or your waffles will be tough. The batter will still be slightly lumpy.

Heat a waffle iron. Spray the surface with a little cooking spray. Cook the waffles in batches, cooling on a rack as they are finished. When the waffles are completely cooled, place in bread bags by the dozen. Suck out the excess air and close with twist-ties. Freeze immediately.

When ready to use, place frozen waffles directly into the toaster until they are lightly golden.