Just Peachy

I have been trying to enjoy the start of my summer with a little bit of summer fruit. I have looked everywhere for large summer peaches but have only found the smaller sized ones.


 There is the Schnepf Family Farm,

But it is several hours away in Queen Creek, Arizona. Their advertisement sounds like so much fun for a day-trip for the family. They have a country store, a U-PIC  garden of apples or peaches and rides. They even have wedding site with all the country farm fields for your backdrop, who needs anything else? If only it were closer to where I live, I would have made the trip.

 So, I settled for peaches from the local grocers instead and was pleasantly surprised when Kristen came home with peaches of two different varieties: Loring and Glowing Star. (Notice the difference in color and skin?)

Hmm, now I wonder what I should make with these peaches? I think I would like to make a peach...
Hmm, that's a good idea.

Come visit again and see what I plan to bake make with these peaches

XOX


p.s. If anyone knows of the name of the peach farm in Utah, please let me know. I hear those peaches are almost softball size and the sweetest and juiciest peaches to be found. The best part is, I can order them and have them delivered to my home.

Blessings,

Schnepf Farms 

22601 East Cloud Road 

Queen Creek, Arizona 85242

480-987-3100

schfarm@earthlink.net

Chabacan

This is going to be my first attempt at canning apricots (Chabacan). My Mother-in-law, Jeannette, had already prepared the apricots so that I could get an early start in the canning project. I followed the Sure-Jell recipe and went to a few food blogs for someone to tell me it's going to be easy. They did and it was easy.

This is the bright color before the added ingredients. 

The Sure-Jel Pectin recipe was simple and only consisted of five ingredients.

   1. Apricots

          2. Lemon Juice

3. Butter  

4. Pectin

5. Sugar

After I added the ingredients it became darker in color.

This was so much fun and a success. Some will be gifts for friends and family. Now we will be able to have summer fruit several months after the weather becomes cooler.

It was so sweet of you to have stopped by today.
I really enjoyed the visit.

XOX

Blessings,
 

Thank you, Jeannette, I love you dearly.

Cilantro Juice

On most mornings, I drink a vegetable or fruit juice: tomato, orange, cranberry or pink grapefruit. My favorite is the tomato and since I like it spicy, I get the Spicy V8. It can be a meal in itself and it tastes like a mild salsa. Lately, I have been wanting to try a cilantro juice because of it's color. We hear how the darker the vegetable the healthier it is for us. Researching the information and for recipes I found a variety of cilantro juices that I would like to try.

Some use the cilantro as a detox. Who would have ever thought this little herb that makes salsa taste so good would be extremely beneficial to our health? As stated in, We Like It Raw, "A Japanese investigator, Yoshiaki Omura, has made the revolutionary discovery that cilantro can mobilize mercury and other toxic metals from the central nervous system if large enough amounts are consumed daily. Reuters reports that cilantro contains a chemical which has been found to kill the Salmonella bacteria that cause foodborne illness.
The heavy metal detox capabilities of cilantro should also make it of great use in the treatment of depression, Alzheimer's disease, lack of concentration and other related disorders."

I decided to give it a try with items I already had in the cupboard and refrigerator. Here goes...

Cilantro Juice

Cilantro

Cucumber

Lemon

Lime

Serrano

Carrots

Cayenne

Flax Seed

*pinch of salt (optional)

I just put everything in the blender with water and made my salsa  juice. It was very good but I wanted to eat tortilla chips with it. Needs a little bit of garlic and just another pinch of salt and this salsa  juice would be wonderful. I think I will call my kids and ask them to pick up some chips on the way home. This is a salsa juice they are sure to enjoy and it is healthy for them, too.

I recommend following one of the more popular recipes for desired sweetness other than spicy (unless you want a cilantro salsa). Here's a few links you might want to visit.


Sarma's Cilantro Shake

and

Ginger Cilantro Shake

and my Cilantro salsa Juice. (Heehee)

Stay healthy all summer long.

Thank you for visiting with me, today.

xox

Blessings,

Resources

http://www.welikeitraw.com/rawfood/2007/03/sarmas_cilantro.html

http://www.elanaspantry.com/ginger-cilantro-green-shake/

Refreshing Waters/Agua Frescas

With summer upon us staying hydrated is a must. The fruit juices such as the Agua Frescas of strawberries, melons, Jamaica (Hibiscus), the rice drink Horchata, mango and many more certainly satisfy our thirst on a hot day and provide a sense of feeling refreshed at the same time. But do not stop with just the fruit variety of drinks there are the vegetable drinks such as Cucumber Cilantro.
(see recipe below)

Since, Cilantro does not have a long shelf life, I will put a bunch of cilantro with water in the blender then pour it into ice trays and freeze for later use or I hang it to dry and store it for when I cook something that needs cilantro I just reach for the jar and crumble it in. It enhances the flavor of salsas, rice, fish, etc, etc.

There are many health benefits in cilantro and it is so nutritious as well as tasting so good.

Two sites that disclose the herbs qualities are:

Global Healing Center and Simply Studded

"Cilantro is a member of the carrot family and Cilantro may be useful to treat urinary tract infections. Both the leaves and seeds aid digestion, relieve intestinal gas, pain and distention. They also treat nausea, soothe inflammation, rheumatic pain, headaches, coughs and mental stress" (simplystudded.com).

I have had days when all I wanted for dinner was a salad. It could have been because of the warm weather and not wanting a hot meal or because I didn't want to eat something heavy; just a light salad would do perfectly. After eating a few cucumbers slices I begin to feel cooled down. There are a variety of salads that we add cucumber to because it tastes so good and refreshing.

There are other uses for the cucumber such as spa therapy, and facials for it's rejuvenating effect to our skin.(Click on the picture and see #5 Create a Homemade Facial Mask)

Well, let's take those concepts of something light, refreshing and  rejuvenating and apply it to the inside of our bodies. That is what the Agua Frescas provide in a cooling drink; they are naturally healthy full of the vitamins that we need and they taste so good. They don't leave you feeling heavy and with an unsatisfied thirst as does soda with it's processed sugar. Here is an Agua Fresca that I make and I thought you might enjoy. Give it a try and see if you don't feel refreshed even as the day goes by. 

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so...And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day.


All natural ingredients made by God for our good!

Cucumber Cilantro Agua Fresca

4 sprigs of cilantro
(tear some of the leaves to release the oils)
1 Sm. lemon sliced
1 Sm. lime sliced
1/2 Lg. cucumber sliced
1 pitcher of water

Combine ingredients in pitcher and refrigerate over night. 

Optional:

Berries, mango, pineapple chunks
Club soda or ginger ale

Before serving, add your club soda or ginger ale. In a glass add ice, fruit, cilantro and Agua. 

I like to add cilantro leaves and berries in my glass for garnish. I enjoy smelling the cilantro as I bring the glass to my mouth.

Enjoy and stay cool this summer and thank you for the visit.

xox

Blessings,

http://simplystudded.com/tag/cilantro/

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/benefits-of/cilantro