Toothsome Thursday

I was at the Farmer's Market last Wednesday when I happened upon some organic raspberries going for a very decent price. Twelve boxes for only $20! In October! I'll admit I took advantage of the opportunity.

This is not 12 boxes. This is only 6. I had already rinsed six when I realized it might be nice to take a picture. 

The only thing about raspberries is that they go bad if you look at them sideways. I knew there was no hope of eating them all before they went downhill. Fortunately with my tiny amount of canning experience I was pretty sure it would be easy to make some delicious jam out of them with little to no trouble.

So I set some aside for snacking, rinsed the rest and threw them into a pan on low heat.

Then I crushed them with my trusty wooden spoon, raised the heat to medium and waited for it to come to a boil.

And after a while the raspberries looked something more like this.

Then I cooked them over medium-low heat for about an hour, maybe more, stirring frequently. This is a great time to fold laundry or watch mindless television. I think I read a book on my iPhone in between stirrings. Yes, you need to be near the kitchen, but you don't need to be over the stove every minute.

I waited until the raspberries thickened up and there was almost no liquid left, then I added some sugar to taste. I'm not sure how much, maybe 2 cups? Maybe a little more. They were pretty tart to begin with. And what I ended up with wasn't extremely sweet, but just sweet enough.

Then I canned the jam in a hot water canner. (Boil the jars for at least ten minutes fully submerged in a large pot, then allow them to rest on a towel for about 24 hours. Don't forget to check the seals.)

And I ended up with five cups of gorgeous, delicious raspberry jam that's so flavorful you only need the tiniest bit on a piece of toast to enter nirvana. Yum! I decided not to attempt to remove the seeds because I think they might add some healthy fiber to the jam, and yes, I was feeling a bit lazy. Also, I really don't mind seeds. But if you want to remove the seeds, my guess is that a food mill could probably help you out with that.

I like making things. What can I say? The joy of creation and seeing tangible proof of my efforts is addictive. Jam making, cooking, photography. They're not so different. What do you like to create?

Food Week Reprise - Peach Butter

I know I promised to blog this recipe last week, but I lost my cat, and I decided blogging wasn't at the top of my list of priorities that day.

Fortunately, we found the cat, so I can share this deliciousness with you. Honestly, it's pretty phenomenal stuff. And the recipe is so simple, it's a bit unbelievable. I was inspired by this post on Smitten Kitchen, you can check out the original for more in-depth analysis of the peach butter phenomenon, and probably also better directions as well. If you're interested, here's a peach and lemongrass butter that also sounds intriguing.

Ingredients: peaches, the best you can find (optional: sugar and lemon juice, but I used neither). Pretty simple, right? Just fruit, nothing else.

Mmmm, delicious window light. 

Cut your peaches into eighths, and put them in a big pot.

These are not eighths, these are halves. I trust you to know the difference. 

Add a little water (about a cup, maybe a little less). Cover the peaches and cook over medium low heat for about ten minutes, until the peaches soften up and start to release some of their own juices.

Then uncover your pot, and cook the peaches down for a while. Depending on your stove, and how ripe the peaches were when you started, this could be anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour.

After a few minutes.

After about half an hour.

I probably cooked my peaches down a bit too far this time, but I don't think it made a huge difference in the finished product.

Then either puree the peaches in a blender, use an immersion blender, or put them through a food mill. (I used a food mill. This one, if you're interested.)  Once the peaches are blended, return them to the pot and continue to simmer them on medium low heat, stirring frequently. Your goal is to get rid of as much water as possible from the peaches so you're left with only pure peach essence.

Your peach butter is done once it gets thick and sticky, and a spoonful of it on a cold plate doesn't form a ring of water around it. If you're making a small batch over higher heat, this might happen fairly quickly (30 minutes or so). If you're making a larger batch or cooking over lower heat, it could take a while. A couple of hours, maybe. Be prepared to wait it out, because trust me, it's worth it.

Once it's done, you can can it by boiling it in a hot water bath for ten minutes and then setting the cans on the counter for 24 hours. Or you can just put it into a container and make sure you eat it quickly. Or you could freeze it. It's up to you. Make sure to test the seals if you can it. Also know that since there's no added sugar it's probably only shelf stable for a few months instead of the year that most other jam products can last.

Then put some cute stickers on the jars. This is an essential step.

Then enjoy! It's great stirred into yogurt or spread on top of a biscuit. And it's divine on waffles. I think it would also make a very gourmet pb&j.

Peach season is almost over, but this is perfect for very ripe fruit. Let me know if you try it!

Incredibly Delicious, Incredibly Easy Peach Galette

You know that saying, easy as pie? Well, they got it a little wrong. It should properly be 'easy as galette.' Not as catchy, perhaps.

I can't take credit for the brilliant simplicity of this recipe; all I can do is shout its brilliance and simplicity from the rooftops. And then I can make it, again and again. Seriously, I've made it four times so far, and all I can tell you is that the quality of the peaches you use makes a big difference. The better the peaches, the better the galette. And use them ripe. Sometimes unripe fruit can bake up better than ripe fruit - not so in this case. Wait until the peaches are almost falling off the stones, when you can slip the skin off with a little pressure from your thumb.

Ah, peaches. You could do this with nectarines just as easily, I'm pretty sure, especially since the original recipe calls for them (thanks go to to Real Simple's 3-ingredient recipes).

Ingredients:

2-3 peaches, sliced thin (Real Simple advises 3, I advise 2. 2 big peaches will be exactly enough, in my humble opinion. But if you've got little scrawny peaches, use 3)
lemon curd (my addition, just a little extra bit of deliciousness)
one pie crust (homemade, if you can, store bought if you can't be bothered)
a little butter (optional, I used this the first time I made it, and skipped it afterwards)
some sugar (turbinado is probably best if you have it, but any kind of sugar will work)

Assembly:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Slice the peaches as thin as you can. Roll out the pie crust. Take a spoon, and spread about 3-4 tablespoons of lemon curd on the crust, skipping about the outer 1 inch of crust. Then arrange the peaches on the crust, leaving the outer two inches of crust uncovered. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of sugar on the peaches at this point (Real Simple calls for turbinado sugar, I didn't have any, so I used regular white sugar). If you're using butter, cut about 2 tablespoons onto the peaches at this point as well. Then fold the edges of the crust over the peaches as shown in the picture.  Using a brush or a wet paper towel, brush water over the edges of the crust. Sprinkle the wet edges with a little more sugar. Bake on a parchment paper covered baking sheet for 35-40 minutes (check earlier, as baking times have varied a bit for me, and no one wants a burnt crust!)

Enjoy!