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.