MMMMM Peaches!

I was able to get my 2 year old niece Brenna to say "mmm peaches" while we were working away today. My sister-in-law, Kayla and grandma-in-law took on the challenge of preparing 3 bushels of Missouri peaches for freezing. For those of you interested in the whole process...

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and have a big bowl of cold water (doesn't have to be ice water) at the ready
2. Scald 5-7 peaches at a time in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes
3. With a slotted spoon, transfer peaches to cold water.
4. Peel off the skins with a paring knife (they should come off easy enough with your fingers too)
5. Slice peaches to desired size and combine 8 cup of sliced peaches with 1 cup of white sugar and 2 teaspoons of Vitamin C powder**

**Vitamin C powder can be found at vitamin stores and helps keep the peaches from oxidizing (turning brown) once they are pealed

6. Pack into plastic freezer boxes. DON'T use plastic freezer bags-for some reason it distorts the flavor of the peaches and they get freezer burned quickly.
7. Store in freeze for up to a year.

Whew! It was a lot of work, but it was so worth it! Getting out a box of peaches in the middle of January is so satisfying, not to mention yummy! We had some left over so I made peach crisp for dessert tonight.

Peach Streusel Crisp Ingredients: Enough for a 8x8 pan, double recipe for a 9x13

• 9 good-sized ripe peaches
• 1/2 Cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  
• 2 TB. flour (for juicy peaches; 1 TB. for firm peaches)

Topping:

• 1 stick cold butter (8 TB.)
• 1 Cup flour
• 2/3 Cup sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease the bottom only of an 8x8 glass pan or medium casserole dish. Peel and pit the peaches, slice and place in a large bowl. Top with sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla, toss to coat. Set aside while preparing topping. Make the streusel by cutting the cold butter into a bowl, adding flour, sugar and cinnamon, and rubbing it through your fingers until the streusel is a coarse, sandy/pebbly texture. Put the seasoned peaches into the pan, top generously with the streusel, and bake at 350° about 30 minutes, until the streusel is golden brown and the peach juice is starting to bubble up through the topping. Serves: 3-4 (Recipe from Penzey's Spices online)



Peaches have to be one of my favorite fruits, so having a bounty of them makes me so happy! As we say goodbye to July, take some time to sit outside, listen to the cicadas sing and have a bowl of peach crisp with some ice cream!

Blessings,
e