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!

Lost and Found

Yesterday we lost Mouse for about ten hours, and I would be lying if I didn't say it was some of the worst hours of my life. I couldn't even begin to imagine life without my little mischievous ragamuffin. Fortunately she found her way home around 11:30 last night, as I was sitting on the stairs outside our apartment, pondering whether I should sit up all night and wait for her.

Fortunately we have an abundance of pictures of her. Here are some of the shots we considered in making lost cat posters.

This is how she attempts to recreate the heat of Thailand.

Those eyes!

Not only is Mouse cute, but she's also very well read. 

Welcome back home, Mouse. And don't you ever do that again!


-Jessica, resident cat caregiver and failed door monitor

Delicious (Food Week Day 6)

Oh, oops, skipped day five. It's been a busy week. And today's a short post - just a delicious sandwich. Can't get better than fresh mozzarella, some basil, a little hummus, and a toasted pita. Oh, and a little balsamic sprinkled on top.

I really will tell you all about the peaches tomorrow, I swear!

August Flame (Food Week, Day 4)

Today I went from this . . . .

. . . . to this . . .

. . . . to this.

August Flame is the name of these peaches. I think it's appropriate. Aren't they gorgeous? As you know, I have a love affair with peaches, as I have proved a couple times before. Come back tomorrow to hear the full story of the latest installment. (Hmm, that seems like an oxymoron. The latest installment of the full story?)

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I'm trying something new. This is food week on the blog. Every day I'll post a photo of food and then either a story or a recipe. Want to join in? Join the flickr group and post your food photos!

Simple Heirloom Tomato Basil Sauce (Food Week, Day 3)

Have you ever seen yellow tomato sauce before?

Well, I spent all evening taking the tomatoes in the top picture and turning them into tomato sauce, and then jarring it up. That part was extremely satisfying, but because it was evening, the light was not superb, and I'm not really satisfied with either of these shots. Yes, I could have used some lighting equipment, but I was a bit lazy. Let's just leave it at that.

What I am satisfied with, however, is the sauce. WOW. I love heirloom tomato sauce. It has a flavor that you just wouldn't believe. Mmmmmm. I'm going to be having dreams all night.

Ingredients:
Heirloom tomatoes (I used striped Germans, mostly)
Fresh basil

Optional:
Olive oil, butter, salt

The recipe is simple. Take some heirloom tomatoes, cut them in half or into quarters, put them in a pot on low to medium heat. Cook them like this for a while at a simmer to reduce the amount of liquid involved. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching. When the consistency is something like a thin sauce, put the liquid through a food mill to remove the skins and some of the seeds. (Or you could just leave them in. I've tried it with and without skins, and I don't really mind them. But I got a food mill, so I used it.)

Then continue to reduce the amount of liquid in the sauce by keeping it at a low simmer. The sauce is going to spatter; that's expected. At this point I add some fresh basil to taste. (I personally like a lot of basil, but you may not.) Also, you might add some salt. But you're not going to need a lot, because if there's one thing this sauce isn't lacking, it's flavor.

Continue cooking down the sauce until it keeps its shape on a spoon, or there's very little liquid rising to the top. At this point you can add some olive oil or a little butter, but you really might not need to. It's so delicious. The only drawback is that the cooking time can be rather long, and you don't end up with a lot of sauce. I started with probably 12-15 pounds of tomatoes and I ended up with 4 12 ounce jars of sauce. But you also don't need a lot of sauce for a bowl of pasta - like I said, it has a lot of flavor. You really don't need any parmesan cheese to go with it, and trust me, usually I'm a parmesan fiend.

If you try this, I'd love to hear about it. Or if you have any other great tomato sauce recipes you'd like to share, please do.

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I'm trying something new. This is food week on the blog. Every day I'll post a photo of food and then either a story or a recipe. Want to join in? Join the flickr group and post your food photos! (Yay! I am now not the only one in the Flickr group. Please don't be shy and come post some photos of delicious food.)

Espresso Banana Bread - A Photo Essay (Food Week, Day 2)

(For the curious, I used this recipe, and added a shot of espresso, some cinnamon, and a cup of chopped walnuts. It was pretty good, but just a little too soft for me. I'd recommend 3 bananas instead of the 4 I used.)

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I'm trying something new. This is food week on the blog. Every day I'll post a photo of food and then either a story or a recipe. Want to join in? Join the flickr group and post your food photos! (Yay! I am now not the only one in the Flickr group. Please don't be shy and come post some photos of delicious food.)