Spiced Peach Jam

We love peaches!

I don't think I have ever met anyone that doesn't love peaches. This summers peaches were the best ever, according to the farmer we bought most of ours from. We used our peaches in many delicious ways but this lovely jam will remain all year. At least I hope it lasts that long. I love to share the things I make so we are down to just a couple jars (which, by the way, got rave reviews.) That's ok, we know how to make it last!

It had not canned anything since the 1980's when our kids lived at home. Somehow, in my feable mind, I was sure we still had that canner. I could still picture it and was convinced I wouldn't have given it away. I searched the garage and asked my hubby if he would look. He didn't find a canner. Ha, as if we would have packed and repacked that canner from Oregon, to Washington, from Washington to California and back to Oregon. Somehow I could picture it and was still convinced we had it packed away. I'm now convinced that I gave away all my canning supplies when we moved in away in the 90's.

When we headed out to find a new canner, I couldn't believe how many choices there are now. Back in the 70's-80's there were just a few choices. In spite of many colored jars to choose from, and several canning methods, I stuck with the clear jars as they highlight the treasures inside the best. We also bought the accessory pack so we were completely ready to tackle the peaches and several other canning projects. 

This is the first batch of jam I made this year and here is the recipe for Spiced Peach Jam. You will find complete directions from start to finish. I made another batch of vanilla peach jam and I will share that recipe another time. Costco still has peaches and we just got a fresh batch of our favorite Maryhill peaches last weekend. I might make another batch of peach jam if we don't eat the peaches first!

Canning can seem daunting if you haven't experienced it yet. It is a very easy way to preserve food. I do recommend buying a canner and the accessories. It makes everything easier. Start out small and go from there. You can preserve food all year long. It's not just a summer thing.

My Loves...

I love, love, love my family! I love my dear hubby. I love our son. I love our daughter and her husband . I love our grandsons. I love our doggies. Since they are the best part of my life I am going to share a few pictures from the past year.

Warning: there will be lots of pictures of my two grandsons and dog children!

Wiley's self portraits. It was a pleasant surprise to find these pics and about 30 more on my iPad! 

This cutie is a 7-year old 2nd grader

And now it's Ivans turn!

This little cutie is now a 5-year old kindergartener

Our doggie kids keep us laughing on a daily basis.

Miss Lucy

Who could resist that cute little face

My dear hubby and I in San Francisco last summer celebrating my 60th birthday!

A Dark-ish Day And The Smell Of Banana Bread

We had the most amazing summer here in the Northwest. It was sunny and dry the whole summer except for a couple days of drizzle and fog. Yay!!! Then about two weeks ago it changed for a few days. It got cloudy and dark-ish and it actually rained on and off for a couple days. Ohhh... I was afraid summer had packed up and gone. So I guess that gave me the bug to bake something. At first I started looking for something apple or pumpkin because, after all, it was the end of September and summer was technically over. (I have the worst time accepting fall in the Northwest! Don't get me started about winter in the Northwest!) A lot of people in the Northwest are very outspoken about fall being their favorite season so you need to be careful not to step on anyones cold toes by disagreeing out loud. I prefer year-around summer and am looking forward to enjoying year-around summer again. Until that day, I will make the best of it... which leads me back to banana bread. I noticed 4 very ripe bananas in our fruit bowl and they were begging to be used. Banana bread! I remembered I had a new banana bread recipe I wanted to try so I made it because it was cloudy and dark-ish and the day needed banana bread.

The recipe went together very well and before too long we had the smell of banana bread wafting through the house. We even opened up the windows to share the lovey smell. The bread turned out very moist and it was full of flavor. I didn't snap a pic of that loaf but you can take my word, it looked good and tasted amazing.

Fast forward to Monday of this week. Again, I noticed 4 very ripe bananas begging to be used in some way so you know what I did. I made another loaf of the amazing banana bread. This time I took a couple pictures. 

I have lined a baking pan with parchment paper maybe twice in my life, but since the recipe said to do it, I did! And I am sold on it! It takes a couple minutes but it is really worth it. There is nothing worse than trying to remove a fresh baked good out of a pan and having it crumble because it is still too warm and should have been left alone. You know what I'm talking about. I guess my rebellious side decided that I didn't need to take the time to line it lengthwise so I didn't and it worked perfectly this way too.

Look how handy that is to get the bread out.

Here is the finished product.

After it had cooled completely, I sliced it up and put together a nice platter for my hubby to share at work the next day. Our son came over later that morning to hang out with me for a while and I was happy I had saved a couple inches of the bread so that he could enjoy some with his coffee.

If I have talked you into adding this excellent banana bread recipe to your collection, here you go.

Bon Appetit Banana Bread 

My MO still seems to be making changes to recipes. I just can't help myself. I only made a couple changes and I have one product recomendation:

I don't keep marscarpone cheese in my fridge so I substituted with reduced fat cream cheese.
I added a teaspoon of Watkins Vanilla Nut Extract
I sprinkled chocolate on top
I didn't add the walnuts because I didn't have any 

My sales pitch is for Trader Joe's Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chunks. If you haven't tried them you really should. You will love them. They taste very good. They are under $3.00 for 10 ounces. They taste better than Nestles Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips. They all have their own personality.

Did you notice the words at the bottom of the bag?  Left side says "Ideal" ~ Right side says "snacking."

I love using them for their angled shapes and random sizes. Some times you need chips and sometimes you need chunks. Banana Bread and Chocolate Chip Cookies need chunks. Just saying...try them and you will like them. If you buy them, try to disregard the little message they have placed on the bottom of the bag.

You can also find this recipe on my Pinterest page. Just click on the Pinterest button and look for the board "Recipes I have made."

Enjoy!