Saturday, July 6, 2013

Whew, almost back to Normal... and Peaches!

Computer is now fixed, and I downloaded software so I can read all my research notes and my recipes again. However, my CapTel (captioned telephone) still isn't working; not the fault of the telephone itself but rather the VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) box that runs it.

The VOIP box is an Ooma Telo, and their customer service is the pits. After getting no help from repeated emails and calls to them from a neighbor's phone for a week or more, I gave up. I bought the Ooma box through Amazon so I finally contacted Amazon. With no hesitation, Amazon is replacing the unit at no charge. I hope the new one works longer than the 3 weeks the first one worked.

With as much catching up I have to do, I also have a trip away next week, so I'll still be behind and scarce in posting for another week. A Virginia friend is picking me up after my doctor's appointment in Winston-Salem, NC next Monday afternoon, and we are going to upstate South Carolina around the Gaffney area for peaches. A gardening friend there is giving us a place to sleep.



If you have never tasted a freshly picked ripe South Carolina peach, you have missed a really big treat, nothing like you can taste in cold-storage peaches from the grocery stores. Georgia calls itself "The Peach State" but SC grows and sells more than twice as many peaches as Georgia. Several years ago when I still lived in Georgia, I took a bushel of huge SC peaches to a garden gathering in Tennessee, and they were gobbled up like hotcakes. I haven't had really good peaches since then.

My onerous chore for this weekend is to wash canning jars in preparation for the peaches. Peaches do not keep well, so I will have to process mine as soon as I get them home. I plan to make peach chutney (some mild, and some spicy) and perhaps make some peach curd and maybe even peach vinegar for summer fruit salads. Any remaining peaches that I don't eat fresh will be canned in very light syrup.

6 comments:

  1. Glad you've got your stuff back!!

    Peaches not ripe here until the first of Sept. I freeze mine. I make a freezing liquid of 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 6 acerola Vit C tablets and a quart of water, whizzed in the blender until the tablets are mixed in. I pour it over washed, not peeled, halved, pitted peaches in quart freezer boxes. Label and freeze.

    As long as the peaches stay covered, once thawed, they are fine to use for lots of things. I use the same liquid recipe for freezing pear slices. Avoids all the sugar needed for canning.

    I hope your trip goes well!

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    Replies
    1. I'm trying to lessen what goes in the freezer but your "recipe" sounds good! Power outages abound here in the mountains and sometimes last for days. In the wintertime I don't lose freezer contents, but otherwise it is very risky.

      I use Pomona's Pectin, which means I can use little or even no sugar for canning jams and jellies. http://www.pomonapectin.com/

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  2. I LOVE peach leather if you have a dehydrator available. Hare for me to resist peach leather!

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  3. Will you share the peach curd recipe? It sounds delicious!

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    Replies
    1. Peach Curd
      http://kitchenconfit.wordpress.com/2008/08/24/kitchen-confit-peach-week-peach-tart/

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  4. If you have a few peaches left still, this is incredible on Chicken and Fish, or Pork if you prefer.
    Zesty Peach BBQ Sauce
    http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipe.aspx?r=58
    JF

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