Peaches!

Peach season is in full swing right now so take advantage of it! I took my boys to a local orchard the other day and loaded up on two big bushels of peaches. It was a really fun morning out but it is also going to help stock my freezer and pantry for the coming months. Here are a few great recipes to help you use up your extra peaches!

Peach Whiskey BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:
olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1/3 cup bourbon (I used Bird Dog Peach Flavored Whiskey)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 peaches, peeled, cored and diced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and slightly browned (about 12 minutes). Add the garlic in and cook until fragrant (3 min). Stir in the chili powder and mustard.  Stir in the peaches, bourbon, brown sugar, ketchup and vinegar. Simmer for 30 minutes until the peaches are really soft. At this point, take it off the heat and let it cool down. When it is cool, puree in a blender until desired consistency. This is great on ribs or chicken! Store it in a container in the fridge for a week or freeze it for up to 6 months.

Mason Jar Peach Crumbles

Ingredients:

4 cups peaches, peeled, cored and diced

3 Tbsp Tapioca

1 Tsp cinnamon

dash of salt

1 cup brown sugar, divided in half

squeeze of half a lemon

1/4 cup flour

2 Tbsp oats

3 Tbsp butter, cold and diced

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Spoon the mixture into clean mason jars (about 3/4 of the way up).  In a separate bowl, mix together the rest of the brown sugar, the flour and oats. Cut the butter in until it is combined. Top the mason jars with the crumble mixture.

At this point you can either bake them at 350 degrees for about a 3-40 minutes (or until hot and bubbly) or you can put the mason jar lids on a store them in your freezer.

If you are baking them from the freezer, take the tops off and place the jars on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheet into a cold oven and turn it onto 375 degrees. This will take about an hour but will ensure the jars won't crack and break.

Serve these hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (get my homemade ice cream recipe here)



Garden Party 2014

The highlight of my summer was throwing our annual garden party. We threw a fabulous one last year, so this year we had even bigger plans. As usual, the purpose of this is to get together with friends and neighbors but also to showcase what comes out of the garden every summer. I had been thinking and planning since the end of last summer so I had a pretty good plan for what I wanted the look and feel to be. We went with a Greek theme this year because I had tons of food growing that is typically found in Greek recipes. As for the ambiance I wanted it to be very natural, clean and simple. I stuck with burlap and browns but had pops of blue and white on the table. I used blue and white dish towels as the napkins and had my silver for the utensils to add a little elegance. The wine glasses were small mason jars to keep the simple garden theme and wine corks were used to hold the name tags.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I didn't want to use traditional flowers on the table so I filled large glass vases with lemons and water and had tea lights all around them on the table. I also added a runner of lemon leaves down the table to add a little natural green.

 

For the menu, I tried to keep it relatively simple. I did as much ahead of time as possible so I was able to enjoy my guests instead of slaving over the stove or grill.

 

 

 

For the Appetizers:

 

Spanakopita made from the spinach in the garden.

Lamb Sliders with sauteed onions, feta and tzatziki

Mediterranean Pizza with squash, zucchini and an eggplant crust

Zucchini Soup Shooters

Beet Hummus

An assortment of olives and feta cheese

 

 

 

 

 

For Dinner:

I pre-grilled chicken skewers which I had marinated in lemon, garlic, Greek yogurt and a bunch of fresh herbs. I served this along with an orzo salad that had herbs, feta, tomatoes and onions. I also pre-roasted tons of cut up veggies from the garden that I put a simple herb vinaigrette over. Same as last year, I tried to make as much ahead of time as possible and served it all at room temperature. I also had fresh zucchini bread and grilled naan on the table.

 

For Dessert:

I made individual rhubarb raspberry crisps in mason jars. They were baked off right before serving so they were really gooey and hot. I served each with a scoop of homemade basil- mint ice cream. These were a huge hit!

 

The Cocktails!

 

I again pre-mixed all the cocktails ahead of time. This made it so fun for everyone to just grab a mason jar and have a garden fresh drink! I labeled all of them ahead of time with little wooden labels so people knew exactly what they were drinking.

 

 

Zucchini & Sea salt Vodka Spritzers

Cucumber Lemoncello Splash

Mint Margaritas

Rhubarb Vodka Fizz

Vodka Apple Cider

 

It was fun having everyone figure out which was their favorite! Mine was the cucumber lemoncello splash! So good but dangerous!

 

 

As usual, I would hate for my guests to go home empty handed, so we had a party favor table set up at the gate going to the driveway.

 

 

Everyone left with a bottle of hot pepper infused vodka, a loaf of zucchini bread and a jar of dill pickles.

 

It was a fabulous night with some of our favorite people. I couldn't have done it without help from two amazing "feel like a guest" girls! They made everything run smooth and seamlessly. The kitchen was spotless and I was able to relax and enjoy my friends.  I woke up the next morning and started planning for 2015, so stayed tuned! I am happy to post any recipes, if requested.

 

Did I forget to mention it was a toga party too??

 

 

 

*Photos are curtious of a fabulous photographer, Lauren Doran.

Check out her website www.laurendoranphotography.com