Time warp ... oh my gosh!

Ever wonder what you would have looked like if you had been born earlier? I just found a website that lets you find out. I have a lot of time on my hands today and well, I've been crackin' myself up looking at all of these options. So... why not share the laughter???

Here we go (in order of appearance): 1960, 1964, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1980













Okay... so, let's have a vote... Which was my best year? Go back up to the top and cast your vote.

From peaches to apples

I bought a bushel of apples from the local orchard last week. Saturday I decided I was ready to do something with them. I'm not big on canning apples, but the nice man at the orchard gave me his daughter's recipe for Apple Pie Filling. I thought, "what the heck" so I bought the apples and took the recipe home with me. So, now we have 18 quarts of apple pie filling all canned and down in the cold storage.

Well... hmmm, actually I guess it's 17 quarts because last night I dumped the contents of one of those blessed jars into a baking dish, covered it with a crumble topping and baked it right up. A scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and voilá -- Apple Crisp!!! So fast, so easy.

Yep, it's going to be a yummy winter at our house this year.

Apple Pie Filling (for canning)

4 cups sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

Mix all together. Heat 10 cups water to boiling; add sugar mixture and stir till dissolved. Then add 3 Tbsp lemon juice and 3 drops yellow food coloring. Heat until thickened. Pour into 6 quart jars filled with sliced apples. Process jars in a water bath canner for 20 minutes. (I used a combination of Jonagold and Jonathan apples.) Note: if you have an Apple Peeler/Slicer/Corer, getting the apples in the jars is a lot quicker and easier. Like I said, I did a whole bushel's worth. I was done in about 1 1/2 hours total time. I ended up with 20 quarts -- gave 2 to the neighbor that loaned me her canning equipment.

Peaches

Canned. Crisped. Cobblered. Jammed. Peaches. One of the benefits of living in Utah is access to the best peaches in the country. Yeah, yeah... I know all about Georgia peaches. But, with all due respect, like my great-grandfather used to say to my Mom: “Peaches grow in Texas, they grow in Georgia, too; but it takes a state like Utah to grow a peach like you.”

Well, okay, that was more about my mom than the peaches, but nevertheless, Utah peaches are SO GOOD. And, this year, I’ve got a boatload of them. We have an orchard just up the road from our house. Last year, I went and bought two bushels of them. Luckily, my son, Josh, was home and he and I spent an entire day canning peaches. We ended up with 42 quart bottles and 24 pint bottles. They were de-lish. And... they lasted all the way from last September to this past June. They lasted longer in the house than Josh did. He’s been in New Zealand since January. But, every time we’d pull out a bottle of peaches, I’d think of him. I’d remember that day he was busy peeling, slicing and filling jars with sugar and water. Okay... excuse me a minute while I go have a little cry...

I’m back. Hands and face washed and tissue in hand. This year, well, I had to do it without him. True to form, where was the camera last year!?! (See my previous camera post. Aaarrrrgh!) Anyway, still no camera, so you'll have to take my word for it rather than picture proof of my labors. Total count: 67 quarts and 3 freezer bags of sliced peaches to be used throughout the winter for smoothies, cobblers and crisps. It’s anybody’s guess how long these will last. Maybe I'll save the very last bottle to serve when Josh comes home from New Zealand.