Home Grown

Archive for the ‘Baking’ Category

With all of those peaches it was a given I would be baking cobblers and pies. I want to share with you an excellent recipe for making peach pie filling. You can can this filling and put it away on your pantry shelf for those long cold winter days when a sun ripened peach would make the day more cheerful.

Wash, peel and slice your peaches. This is really easy. Using a pot of boiling water you can dunk the peaches for about 1 minutes then immediately take them out and plunge them into a a container (or sink) of cold water to stop the cooking process.

The skin will slip right off with little effort on your part.

Slice the peaches.

Use a product like fruit fresh to keep your fruits from turning brown.

For the pie filling I made 7 quarts at a time using 6 quarts of sliced peaches.

In a large deep stock pot mix:

5 1/4 c. cold water
1 3/4 c. bottled lemon juice
7 c. granulated sugar
2 c plus 3 tbsp Clear Jel

While stirring over medium heat bring the mixture up to a boil. You will feel the mix begin to thicken as you stir. It will thicken quickly and while scorch if you don’t work fast. I use a large whisk and keep everything moving while scraping the bottom and the sides of the pot. Boil for 1 minute and remove from heat. The bottom will scorch if you just leave the pot on the eye turned off.

Add in the peaches and mix well. The cloudy look is normal. Don’t worry. After processing the filling will become crystal clear.

Using hot sterilized jars fill the jars leaving 1 1/4 inch of head space. The filling will expand in during processing and will rupture the lids if you don’t leave enough head space. Apply lids and bands.

Process quart jars in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes.

Once the jars have completed processing the filling becomes clear and the jars are gorgeous. A dozen of these on your pantry shelves will bring many smiles to your face and those of your family when you bake a pie filling with summer time goodness during the gray snowy days of winter.

Recipe for 1 quart of peach pie filling:

3 1/2 c. sliced peaches
3/4 c. cold water
1/4 c. bottled lemon juice
1 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c plus 1 tbsp Clear Jel

Let them eat pie! A cobbler! and Tarts!

Happy Mother’s Day!

Let’s have chocolate for the occasion.

Brownies

1 stick of butter
2 squares bakers chocolate*
3/4 c. raw sugar**
2 eggs***
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 ounces dark chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a sauce pan melt the butter. Remove from heat and add the chocolate squares. Using your hand mixer beat in the sugar – with large granules of the raw sugar this will help it to melt. Allow to cool just a bit and beat in eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and set aside. In a small bowl mix the flour, salt and baking powder. Fold this mix into the liquid mixture. Don’t over mix but don’t leave any flour lumps. Fold in the chocolate chips and the nuts. Pour batter into a well greased 8×8 baking pan. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. Don’t over bake.

Icing****

3 tbsp butter, softened, not melted
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c. confectioners’ sugar

Combine butter and cocoa powder leaving no lumps. Add the honey and vanilla extract. Sift in the confectioners’ sugar making sure to leave no lumps.

Frost cooled brownies.

I have no photo. The kids ate them all. I think this means I should make another pan.

Substitutions
* or 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
**or 1 c. white granulated sugar
*** I used duck eggs in place of large chicken eggs
****The icing is optional. Down south it is rare to see brownies served with frosting. This recipe is great either way.

Saturday

Saturday we worked together to start the first of our firewood for next winter. We brought home about 5 cords. Among the wood in the back of the truck we found this little creature on the last load home.

Steven loved watching the lizard change colors.

He was also delighted to have it sit on his shoulder.

Sunday

Sunday afternoon Gracie, age 12, did some baking.

The results were not only beautiful but also delicious.

She made the banana bread recipe from last week and a white bread. We are trying to use up some of the quantities of commercial flour I have on hand. This is a really good bread recipe.

White Bread

6 tsp active dry yeast
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons lard or crisco
1 tablespoon salt
6 – 6 1/2 cups bread flour

Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Just before putting in the loaves turn it down to 375F.

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Stir in lard, salt and two cups of the flour. Stir in the remaining flour half a cup at a time. Beat well after each addition. (Depending on the look and feel of the dough I may only use 6 cups other days it may require 6 1/2.)

When the dough has pulled together into a ball is not sticking to the sides of the bowl turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic or continue to use your dough hook attachment on the stand mixer to do thr work for you.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into two equal pieces and form into loaves.

Place the loaves into two lightly greased 9×5 inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled -about 40 minutes.

If you have smaller pans divide into 3 pieces and bake 3 loaves like Gracie did.

Bake at 375F degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Monday

We made pizza using a 100% whole wheat crust. It was amazing!

Pizza with sausage, pepperoni, black olives and sweet peppers

We love thin, cracker crisp pizza dough and this one fits the bill perfectly.

100% Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

2 1/2 tsps of yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 warm cup water
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour,

Add ingredients to your mixing bowl in the above order.

We use a stand mixer and let it knead the dough about 3 minutes – when it pulled away from the bowl into a neat ball.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, drizzle just a little olive oil over the top, cover and allow to stand for about an hour.

Divide into two equal portions and roll the dough out as thin s possible.

Place onto a baking sheet or pizza pan and allow the dough to crust for about 8 – 10 minutes at 400F degrees.

Remove from oven, apply toppings of your choice and bake.

Tuesday
Steven loves to collect eggs. He gets very excited finding them. He also wants to help carry them to the kitchen which often ends up badly for the eggs. Yesterday he took his wheel barrow out to the duck pen filled with fresh green grass we collected for them. There were so many eggs and he was so eager to help that I took a little hay from the large bale in the field and nested the eggs on it. He was so excited to the bring the eggs from the barnyard to the house. This is half of yesterdays offerings – duck, guinea and turkey eggs. Special delivery!

I bottled a light pilsner yesterday.

I love the look of filled bottles capped and ready for aging.

I procured said wide mouth gallon jar for the apple cider vinegar that is culturing. I tasted it this morning – yumm!

Wednesday

Today’s agenda and to do list – not really sure but I plan to do a pickled carrot and green bean mix. We’ll see how it goes.

What is your week looking like?