Wedding Cake Project: Results!

Wild Blueberry Pie

The Grooms Cake: Guinness Chocolate Cake


Peach Pie

Photos by Laura Luis at Three Lights Photography.

Peach and Tomato Bread Salad

Peaches and tomatoes: a perfect summer combination.

My co-worker Kathy suggested this recipe -- a salad of fresh peaches and tomato. At first I found this idea weird. But after I thought about it, I decided to give it a try. I modelled it after the Cherry Bread Salad. So if you particularly like a certain ingredient you can add more or omit if you don't like it.

We skinned both the tomato and the peach. To do that, bring a small pot of water to boil. Once it's boiling, drop the peach or tomato in the hot water for about 30 seconds, then place in a bowl of cold water. The skin should slide right off.

Inspired by Kathy W.

Eat Rating: Delicious. Make sure the peach is very ripe for best results.
Difficulty: Easy.

1 peach, skinned and cut into slices
1 yellow tomato, skinned, seeded and cut into slices
1/2 loaf of day-old crusty French bread, cut into cubes
1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Mozzarella cheese, if desired


Place the tomato and peach slices in a large bowl and squeeze lemon over, tossing until coated.

Heat a skillet on the stove, then doss in the cubes of bread, coating lightly with olive oil. Continue cooking on the stovetop until bread has begun to brown. Once browned, remove croutons from pan, cook slightly and then add to the tomato and peach slices.

(If using cheese, add it now)

Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the croutons and fruit, tossing until well-coated. Serve immediately.

Peach Butter

Like apple butter, but sweeter

Of the various jam recipes, this one is probably the easiest (you make it in a crockpot, thus relieving the need to stand over a hot stove), but it takes the longest. The recipe said it should take 6 to 12 hours to cook. My crockpot must not be as hot because it took me nearly 24 hours.

Eat Rating: Awesome. Sweeter than apple butter, but just as spicy and delicious.
Difficulty: Easy to Medium. Requires food processor, crockpot and canning equipment.

(For a refresher on canning jam, see previous post on Strawberry Jam or check out this site from the USDA.)

Recipe makes about 5 pints or 10 half pints.

Adapted from Pick Your Own

10 cups of peaches, peeled and pitted (about 30 peaches)
4 cups of sugar
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice

Puree the peaches in the food processor. You want the peach mixture to be as smooth as possible to make smooth butter.

Add the peaches, sugar and spices to the crockpot. Stir until combined. Turn the crockpot up to high. Cover with the lid ajar so that there is some room for steam to escape. (LN: A good way to do this, as the recipe suggests, is to take two butter knives and lay them across the top of the crockpot. Then set the lid on top of the knives. Just a warning, though, the heat oxidized the metal in one of my knives so now it has all these dark gunmetal-gray splotches.)

Cook the peach mixture for 6 to 12 hours. You want the mixture to reduce by about half. To test if it's ready, stir and then pull out the spoon with some of the peach butter on it. Let cool for a minute then turn the spoon over. If it's ready, most of the butter will stick to the spoon. You want it thick, the consistency of natural peanut butter. If it's not thick enough, continue to cook for another hour, then test again. It if gets too thick, add a little water.

Pour hot peach butter into hot jars, top with lids and rings. Water bath can for 5 minutes.

The butter will keep unopened for up to a year. Once opened, eat within 2-3 weeks.

Peach Ginger Jam

CCO says this picture reminds him of those faces on Easter Island.

My mom was skeptical about this recipe. But she was similarly skeptical of the Strawberry Balsamic and that one turned out awesome. I think I won her over.

This jam takes 3/4 cup of fresh ginger. You could probably use ginger paste, the kind you find at Asian grocery stores if you didn't want to do all that peeling. The ginger gives the jam a big kick. No subtlety here.

Eat Rating: Awesome. (Only if you like ginger, though)
Difficulty: Medium. Requires a food processor, canning equipment.

(For a refresher on canning jam, see previous post on Strawberry Jam or check out this site from the USDA.)

Recipe yields about 3 pints or 6 half-pints.

Adapted from Mimi's Cyber Kitchen

3 cups peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped
3/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and diced (LN: I recommend using the food processor)
1 lemon juiced (about 2 tbsp)
1/2 cup water
1 box pectin (1.75 oz or about 3/8 cup)
6 cups of sugar

Take the largest pot you own, fill halfway with water and set on a back burner over medium heat. You will use this later. Place your jars on a cookie sheet and slide into a cold oven. Turn up the heat to 250 degrees. Once it reaches temperature, turn off the oven but leave the jars inside. Place the jar lids and rings in a bowl and set aside.

Combine peaches, ginger, lemon juice, water and pectin in a large saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil. Add the sugar, then return to a boil. Cook 1 additional minute.

Use a ladle to pour some of the hot water from the large pot into the bowl with the lids and rings. This will sterilize them.

Remove a few jars from the oven with a clean dish towel. Ladle the hot jam into the jars, wipe clean the lip of the jars and affix a lid. Twist on a ring till finger tight, then place the filled jar in the large pot of hot water.

Repeat until you run out of jam. You want the jars in the large pot to be completely submerged in water. Add more water if necessary. Return water to a boil, then boil the jars for 10 minutes. Remove jars from pot. The tops should pop as the jars return to room temperature. If any of the jars have not popped within 24 hours, reboil.

The jam will keep unopened for up to a year. Once opened, finish the jam within 2-3 weeks.

Peach Vanilla Jam

Peach vanilla

It is finally August, which means two things: 1) Congress go away for five weeks and 2) I am finally allowed to go on vacation. Or in this year's case, staycation. My mom and I decided a great way to kick off my staycation would be to do an enormous canning project. On Saturday, we'd pick up a bushel of peaches and make jam and Sunday we'd do the same with tomatoes. We are nothing if not ambitious.

I realize now this was insane. We accidentally chose the hottest weekend in the year. Also canning requires a lot of standing. By the end I thought I might collapse. But I did end up with:
- 5 pints peach nectar
- 5 pints peach butter
- 5 pints peach jam
- 6 pints peach-ginger jam
- 4ish pints peach-vanilla jam
- 3 quarts peaches in rum

To avoid boring everyone, I'll post one recipe a week about Leah's adventures in canning. First up, peach vanilla jam.

A couple weeks ago, I was reading the Washington Post Food Section blog and saw this post on vanilla. I've always avoided cooking with vanilla beans, not so much because they are difficult but because of the expense. At my local grocery store, a bottle of one or two vanilla beans runs about $8. In the blog post, Monica Bhide mentions that vanilla beans are a lot cheaper if you buy them online. I looked at Saffron.com like she suggests and 1 lb of vanilla beans (that's 100-120) runs $20. I bought 1/2 lb of two types: Tahitian vanilla and Vanilla planifolia. (Vanilla Garlic has a good post on the different varieties of vanilla if you're interested.

Vanilla Beans

In this French-enclosure jar I bought specially of them, they'll keep forever. (Alright, maybe not forever but at least a couple years)

The Post had also done a big story complete with recipes on jam-making a few weeks back. Sadly it wasn't in time for my first jam session of the year, but I was intrigued by the recipe for Strawberry Vanilla. I googled, and came across this recipe. The jam is mostly peach with just a hint of vanilla. I think it's my favorite find so far. The recipe recommends starting 48 hours early and letting the vanilla beans sit in the sugar. You can obviously do that, but it didn't seem that necessary. I let my beans sit in the sugar for about 2 hours and the taste is plenty vanilla.

Note: For all the peach recipes, you will need to peel the peaches. To do this easily, boil water in a medium saucepan. Drop in a peach for about 30 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of ice water. The hot water loosens the skin from the fruit, the ice helps it separate even more and keeps you from burning your hands. The skins should easily slide off.


(For a refresher on canning jam, see previous post on Strawberry Jam or check out this site from the USDA.)

Recipe yields about 3 pints or 6 half-pints.

Eat Rating: Awesome. I had intended to give away some of my jam, but now I just want to keep it for myself.
Difficulty: Medium. Canning equipment needed.

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, August 1997

2 1/2 lbs peaches, skinned, pitted and sliced
5 1/2 cups sugar
2 vanilla beans
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 box pectin (1.75 oz -- about 3/8 cup)
1 tbsp bourbon

Measure sugar into a large bowl. Cut open the vanilla beans (for an example, see here) and let sit in the sugar for 48 hours. (LN: I let mine sit covered for 2 hours.)

When you are ready to begin cooking, take the largest pot you own, fill halfway with water and set on a back burner over medium heat. You will use this later. Place your jars on a cookie sheet and slide into a cold oven. Turn up the heat to 250 degrees. Once it reaches temperature, turn off the oven but leave the jars inside. Place the jar lids and rings in a bowl and set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine the sliced peaches, lemon juice and pectin. Heat, stirring constantly, until the peaches begin to boil, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla beans. Return to a rolling boil, then cook about 1 additional minute. Remove from heat, stir in bourbon. Fish out the vanilla beans. (You can save these to use again, but you might want to rinse to get the peach stickiness off).

Use a ladle to pour some of the hot water from the large pot into the bowl with the lids and rings. This will sterilize them.

Remove a few jars from the oven with a clean dish towel. Ladle the hot jam into the jars, wipe clean the lip of the jars and affix a lid. Twist on a ring till finger tight, then place the filled jar in the large pot of hot water.

Repeat until you run out of jam. You want the jars in the large pot to be completely submerged in water. Add more water if necessary. Return water to a boil, then boil the jars for five minutes. Remove jars from pot. The tops should pop as the jars return to room temperature. If any of the jars have not popped within 24 hours, reboil.

The jam will keep unopened for up to a year. Once opened, finish the jam within 2-3 weeks.

On toast

It's a Recession! Canned Peaches

Peaches come in a can.

Eat Rating: Delicious. Very light syrup.
Difficulty: Easy to Medium. You will need one very large pot, big enough for the jars to stand straight up submerged in water.

Makes about 6 quarts.

Adapted from the Ball Blue Book of Canning

1 peck (about 11 to 12 lbs) freestone peaches, any variety
1 1/4 cups sugar
5 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup lemon juice

Take the large pot and arrange some extra rings along the bottom. Fill the big pot with water about halfway full and begin to heat. Get out two large bowls. Fill one bowl with ice water and the other with lemon juice.

Place the jars on a cookie sheet and place in a cold oven. Heat the oven up to 250 degrees, then turn off, leaving the jars inside.

Once the water is boiling, dunk the peaches one by one in the hot water for about 30 seconds, then place in the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

Once all the peaches have been dunked, pour some of the hot water into a small saucepan and place the tops and rings into it to sterilize. Set on a back burner on low. Keep the rest of the water in the large pot hot. You will need it later.

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the sugar and 5 1/2 cups of water, stirring until dissolved. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer.

Once the peaches have been dunked, the skins should slide off easily. (Keep the skins to make peach honey or discard.) Place the de-skinned peaches in the bowl with lemon juice, making sure to get some juice on all sides to prevent browning.

Remove a jar from the oven using a clean kitchen towel.

With a paring knife, cut the peaches in half all the way around, then twist off the pit. Remove the pit and discard. Make sure to dunk the inside of the peach in the lemon juice to prevent browning. Place the peach halves (or quarters if you'd prefer) in the hot jar. Fill it up until there is only about a 1/2 inch below the top. Slowly pour some of the water-sugar liquid into the jar until it completely covers the peaches and reaches about 1/4 inch below the lip. Wipe down the lip of the jar. Remove a lid and ring from the water and place the lid on the lip of the jar. Twist the ring until finger-tight. Using the jar lifter, carefully place the filled jar into the largest pot of water on top of the rings, being careful that it does not touch the sides of the pot.

Fill the remaining jars. You might run out of syrup before you run out of peaches. If that happens, just make another batch -- 5 1/2 cups water to 1 1/4 cup sugar.

Once all the jars are filled and in the large pot, add more water so that the jars are completely submerged. Heat until the water reaches a boil, then cook the canned peaches for 30 minutes.

Remove from the pot and allow the jars to come to room temperature. As they cool, you should hear the popping noise as the jars pressurize. Once the jars are room temperature, check that they have all sealed properly. If any have not, reboil for another 30 minutes.

The canned peaches will keep unopened for up to a year. Once opened, eat within a week. The peaches can also be drained and used in any recipes substituted for fresh peaches.