Sunday, September 19, 2010

Peaches and Bananas



All my little sleepyheads,
have at last gone off to bed.
I am peaceful as I blog, 
before I too begin to nod.
In the quiet of the evening time, 
I recall this week of mine 
And share my little tasks with you,
perhaps you will enjoy them too.


So there is my silly poem for the day.  Sometimes my head gets full of rhyme.  I can't help myself, its almost irritating, but I figure if I can't have a little fun with those silly rhymes here, where else can I put them.

Last week was a busy one, with our conference, a visit from our son Nathan, a big box of peaches and a big box of bananas we were blessed with.  The banana's and peaches had to be dealt with of course, so I made peach jam and frozen peaches, banana bread, banana muffins, and dried banana chips.  I got this box of bananas for three dollars, because they were turning slightly brown, so I feel like I hit the jackpot on that one. After 5 loaves of banana bread, 60 muffins, and 2 trays of dried bananas, I still have about 3 bunches of bananas left, and will try to dry the rest of those before they get too soft, otherwise it will be more banana bread and muffins.  I am remembering when Anne from Homeschool on the Croft had a big box of bananas, and made banana bread as well. It is delightful to have some extra goodies in the freezer for company and gifts.

I made three types of peach jam this time; one with no sugar (it was "Ginger Peach") one with low sugar, and one with the regular amount of sugar... which incidentally had a lot of sugar in it.  I am trying to get my household back onto a healthy track, so I have been enjoying a search for some great "no sugar" and whole grain recipes.  I have adapted several recipes as I have gone along, and they are coming out pretty well. I'll share them when they are good.  I liked all the jam recipes, including the "no sugar" recipe, which turned out very well. (If you want to make it, just get the no sugar pectin, and follow instructions.  I added no sweetner at all to it aside from some fresh fruit juice.  You could add honey if you wanted to, but to Steve and I it was yummy as is.

 I have begun a "Blue Jean Bag" for my project of the week, but alas, with the busy week, didn't get it finished, so will get it finished this week, and post it soon.


Many Blessings
Pam

For the dried bananas, I simply sliced, spread on a parchment paper on top of baking racks, and baked at 175 degrees for approximately 5 to 6 hours.  I kept door of oven propped slightly open to release moisture.  I took them out when they were still slightly leathery, because I think they taste better that way than when they are crisp, although, some people like them like chips and if you wanted them that way,  you would just leave them in longer.  These are really great snacks for the kids, and to me they taste like candy.
When cool,  peel off of parchment paper and store in glass jars.





7 comments:

  1. Oh Pam, this all looks amazing. We have never dried bananas. I may just try that.
    And what a load of work you did with the peaches. Well done!
    Great seeing all this. thanks for posting,
    Love, Anne x

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  2. I've never tried the banana chips either but think I'll need to add it to this week's to-do list!

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  3. What a delightful post Mom! I love love love the poem! I thought perhaps you found it somewhere or from a book. I am not surprised you wrote it Mom! It was so cute! You must write the rhyms down when they come into your head! The picture above was very fitting as well! The peaches and bananas look lovely! The fresh bread and jam sound so yummy! I can't wait to catch up! Love you!

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  4. I love that sweet little poem mom!! It reminds me of the poem book we used to read with all the little mice in it. It was so darling and then I read further and found that you wrote it LOL!!! I am so impressed. It doesn't seem fair that I didn't get any of your rhyming talent LOL!

    LOVE the peaches and bananas, I would so love to come over and try your banana bread with butter and tea and eat up that yummy ginger peach jam!!

    LOVE the pictures of all your wonders :)

    love
    ~ Marie

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  5. WOW...what a blessing to get such a great bounty of Peaches and Bananas..and what an even BIGGER blessing that you were able to perserve all of it...I only wish that I was there to be able to taste your delightful Peach Jam and of course the bread as well...Both of which are very hard for me to RESIST... : )

    And don't stop the flow of Rhyme in that head of yours...it's always fun to be able to pen down our thoughts...even ryhming ones..

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  6. Yumm! All of your goodies look so delicious and I especially like the banana chips! They are one of my favorite snacks.

    I hope you were able to get some rest after all that hard work.

    Love,
    Jodi

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  7. OH Miss Pam,

    What a wonderful wonderful post!
    I have missed your homey, cozy, wonderful blogs!!!
    Makes me long to turn back the clock, and come out to your house with my mom and sisters and chat big-girl style. :-D

    Love you!
    Danielle

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