Living in the land of domesticity

It's nearly fall. I'm really good at going whole hog on projects. This means that when my neighbor's husband went to Utah to get fresh peaches and tomatoes, the need to complete my food storage by means of food preservation kicked in. So far, here's what I've done:

• Freezer jam, both strawberry and strawberry peach
• Peach pie filling in the freezer (all I need to do is throw it in a pie crust)
• Apple pie filling in the freezer (again, ready for pie crust)
• Frozen corn, fresh off the ear
• Dehydrated peaches
• Dehydrated apples
• Canned salsa

I want to can the rest of my peaches, but I took a day off to spend some time with my nugget - he's getting sick of his mom being covered in peach fuzz and corn husks!

I've talked a little bit about this on Instagram, and I've had several cousins request my recipes, so here we go!

Nomming the corn, peaches, and tomatoes before I got to the preservation stage of my life.

Salsa, dehydrated peaches, freezer peach pie filling

Dehydrated apples, freezer apple pie filling, strawberry peach jam

There's no recipe for the dehydrated fruits. Seriously, it's slice it thin, lay 'em out in the dehydrator, and let that thing do all the work. You can do it in the oven, but it takes forever, heats the whole house, and is hard with littlies. I got my dehydrator for less than $40 from Amazon. It's kind of cheap compared to a lot of the rest of them, but it does the job. I usually load them up before bed and let them work all night long, leaving me with finished product in the morning. Not only do I not have to hear it, but I get to wake up and feel like I've already accomplished something. Boom!

The corn is kind of the same. You cook it (I put mine in a Pyrex filled 3/4 of the way with water, microwave 10 minutes, flip, and microwave again for 10 minutes) and then cut it off the cob. Then, measure out however much you want per Ziploc bag, put in said bag, suck the air out, and freeze till you want it. It tastes way better than frozen from the grocery store or canned corn. I don't add any butter or seasonings until I'm ready to pull it out of the freezer and use it. Pro tip - put the base of the cob on the center of a Bundt pan and cut it into the pan. So easy!

As far as the apple pie filling goes, I used this recipe from 5 Dollar Dinners.

Ingredients:

8 medium apples, I used Golden delicious

2 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp flour

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Dash of allspice

Dash of cardamom (I used a dash of cloves instead)

Directions:

Peel, core and thinly slice all the apples. In a large mixing bowl, toss the apple slices with the lemon juice, brown sugar and spices. Place in a freezer baggie and then press as much air out of the bag and seal. Freeze, up to 3 months.

Some people noted in the comments that they froze it in a pie tin until solid so that it's already pie shaped. I didn't, but I want to let it thaw before I cook it so I don't mess up the crust. Do whatever you want.

I used this recipe for the peach pie. I don't care what anyone says - I still love me some Paula. She's an amazing cook and entrepreneur. Did she mess up? Yeah. But we keep on forgiving Alec Baldwin, so why not forgive Paula. Off of soap box and sharing recipe...

Ingredients:

1   9-inch pie, top crust

1/2   stick of butter

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons quick cooking tapioca

3 1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoon Fruit Fresh, fruit preservative

9 lb fresh peaches

1 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

Directions

To peel the peaches, first bring a pot of water to a boil.  Using a paring knife, score the peaches with an X into the skins only.  Gently drop the peaches in the boiling water for approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the peaches and place them in iced water for a minute.  The skins should slip off easily.  If not, place back into the boiling water for another 30 seconds.

Slice the peaches and put them in a bowl.  Sprinkle Fresh Fruit and sugar, and stir into peaches.  Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well.

Line 4 pie pans with heavy foil or freezer paper, placing a piece of plastic wrap over foil.  Put 4 to 5 cups filling each pan.  Loosely fold wrapping around pie and freeze until firm.  When filling is frozen solid, remove from pans and wrap tightly.  Return to freezer until ready to use.

On pie baking day, simply place frozen pie filling in pie shell, add half a stick of butter and sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg.  Top pie with an additional pastry crust, seal well, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

I fourthed the recipe because I only wanted one pie filling. And again, I didn't freeze it on a pie pan. Again, do whatever you want.

My freezer jam recipe is one I've posted at Createatorium Crafts, but I haven't published anything there in over 3 years, so I'll just post it here.

Ingredients:

2 cups crushed strawberries

1 1/2 cups crushed peaches (I throw both in the blender to crush)

7 cups sugar

3/4 cup water, 1 package pectin (such as Sure Jell)

6 or so pint-sized Tupperware containers with lids

Directions: Combine your fruit mix and sugar and let sit for 10 minutes. Once that's had time to marinate, boil your water. Once it's boiling, add the pectin and boil for one minute. Then, add to the fruit and stir for 3 minutes. Put in freezer safe Tupperware and let sit on your counter for 24 hours. Then put one in your fridge and the rest in your freezer. Woo hoo!

Variations: This is obviously a VERY basic recipe. It's amazing with any fruit by itself or any combination you can think of. Besides strawberry peach (which is our ultimate fave), we love strawberry, raspberry, peach, and mixed berry. For just berries, I go with 4 cups of berries total.

And now the biggie: the salsa recipe. This is my mom's salsa recipe that she got from a woman she used to work with. It's been modified by her over the years (she's been making it for over 20 years) and it's freaking awesome. Some of you cousins of mine will know this recipe. And therefore, of all the stuff I've been talking about on Instagram, this is the most requested recipe. Be prepared - it took me from 11 am to 5:30 pm, but it's so worth it. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 bushel of tomatoes

4 cups ground yellow onion (about 7)

3 cups ground green pepper (about 5)

1 1/2 pound ground hot pepper (Serrano, chili, or jalapeno)

2 T ground oregano

3 T cumin

1/2 C salt

1 C sugar

2 15 oz cans plain tomato sauce

3 T flour

22-24 glass jars with tops and rings

Directions:

Boil a pot of water and add a few tomatoes at a time. Cook just until the skins split, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to a sink full of cold water. Let cool, and then the skins should slide right off. Cut out the top, then use your hands to squish those bad boys into a very large pot. Then, add your onion, pepper, and hot pepper. (I ground mine in the food processor - the ideas is an insanely fine chop, so do whatever works for you. Also, I only put in half a pound of pepper and then tested as I went along and added more if I wanted more spice. And you don't have to seed your hot peppers.) Add the oregano, cumin, salt, sugar and one of the cans of tomato sauce, mix, and bring to a simmer or low boil. Cook for at least 2 hours or until it's cooked down a good 2 to 3 inches. (Fair warning - everything in your life will smell like salsa for a week if you do this inside. Being in Vegas means I have no other option. You can open the windows and that helps, but again, I'm in Vegas so no dice there. My mom does this on her grill outside and salsas up the neighborhood, but then the house doesn't smell like it. Do what you want.) After it's cooked down, whisk the flour into the last can of tomato sauce, add to salsa, and cook another 20 minutes. I pulled a jar early so that I have a gluten free jar for my gluten free peeps. Because I love you all, and you'd better remember that!

Sanitize jars, lids, and rings. Using a funnel is easiest, but you can do it without - at this point, spoon salsa into your jars. I used pint jars. Fill up until the neck starts to narrow. Wipe down the tops of the jars really well with a wet washcloth or paper towel. Add a sanitized lid and ring, tighten, and put in a boil bath for 15-20 minutes. Remove with tongs, set on a towel on a flat surface, leaving at least 2 inches between jars to let stuff breathe, and DO NOT TOUCH until completely cool. You'll start to hear popping as the jars seal. Once cool, test to see if they're sealed. If not, you can refrigerate or re-boil with a new lid. In the fridge, it's good for a few weeks. Unopened and sealed in the pantry, it's good for like a year.

Because this recipe has a lot of canning jargon, please comment if you need explanations or tips. I'm happy to share the limited knowledge I have here, but this post waxes long.

So next I'm canning peaches and then hopefully I'll give my kitchen a break. Alright cousins, what are you preserving and how are you doing it? And if you're not a cousin, you can respond, too. :)