It’s Peach Festival Time…

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dessert, foodie, fruit, gardening, homegrown, homesteading, peach

Movin’ to the country, Gonna eat a lot of peaches, Movin’ to the country, Gonna eat me a lot of peaches…

I really love your peaches, Want to shake your tree…

My brain keeps shifting back and forth between lyrics from two songs: The Presidents of United States of America’s Peaches and The Steve Miller Band’s Joker. Maybe it’s because the Hale Haven Semi-Dwarf Peach Tree in our mini orchard has produced a bumper crop for it’s first year! Today, I picked over 30 peaches with even more left on the tree (and 5 pits mysteriously on the ground…).

It’s Peach Festival Time ♥ Young Wifey’s Blog

Even though we had fresh Georgia peaches (picked and shipped that morning) in our wedding cake, I’ve never actually been a peach fan.      <GASP!>      I know! Then, I took my first bite of our homegrown Hale-Haven peaches, and I’m sold!

The last week of August was always the Peach Festival at my childhood church. Now, I’m dreaming of my own peach festival…

Millions of peaches…

Wanna shake your tree…

Well, I got to run… This was short, but it’s time to eat another peach!

XOXO,
Young Wifey

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Frozen Grapes

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appetizer, clean eating, dessert, food, foodie, frozen, fruit, healthy, snack, treat

We’re amidst another heat wave. Between the heat waves, there’s rain that lasts for weeks, it’s like Mother Nature doesn’t want us to spend much time outdoors this summer. On hot summer days, there’s nothing more refreshing than frozen grapes. In my house, they’re actually preferred over ice-cream (yes, Hubster too!).

Delicious Snack of Frozen Grapes

15 Reasons Why I Love Frozen Grapes…
1) Two summers ago, Pumpkin wanted me to write down my frozen grape “recipe” so he could ensure that others could make it too.

2) Grapes are the only fruit I like to eat frozen (unless in a smoothie).

3) Frozen grapes are incredibly kid friendly. The preparation is easy enough for little hands and short attention spans.

4) We had frozen grapes on skewers served on silver trays at our wedding (perfect for a hot July outdoor wedding). Each skewer had 2 black, 2 red, and 2 green grapes.

5) Frozen grapes are perfect for keeping wine, champagne, or sparkling water chilled.

6) Even if you don’t like grapes, you will probably like frozen grapes.

7) Frozen grapes make a fantastic healthy snack or dessert, so you don’t have to feel guilty for feeding them to your kid (or eating them yourself) everyday!

8) Almost anyone who visits us during the summer, knows they will find and help themselves to frozen grapes.

9) When you have a bowl full of two or three varieties, they’re just as appeasing to the eye as the mouth.

10) Eating them helps keep you hydrated.

11) Frozen grapes make a fantastic spa day snack!

12) Grapes have amazing health benefits, good for curing indigestion, lowering cholesterol, anti-cancer properties, etc…

13) They are an incredibly satisfying post-workout snack.

14) Frozen grapes are a fairly inexpensive snack as long as you buy the grapes in season. Since grapes freeze and last well, you can much on them well past season.

15) There is almost no prep!

Directions (if you really need them):
Use only seedless grapes. Wash grapes and pull off stem. Blot grapes dry with paper towel. Pour into a gallon size freezer bag and place in freezer. Allow to freeze for a few hours before eating.

Some people like to sprinkle with sugar or unprepared flavored gelatin. This is a big no-no in my household, but try it if it appeals to you.

What’s your favorite cool-down treat?

XOXO,
Young Wifey

Fruit Salsa

Tags

dessert, food, foodie, fruit, recipe, salsa, snack, tortilla

Fruit Salsa has been all over the foodie blog world recently. In the past I’ve made fruit salsa to put on top of grilled chicken and pork. A friend brought a yummy fruit salsa to a picnic last year, but it was more like a diced fruit salad. Then I stumbled upon a recipe serving fruit salsa with cinnamon tortilla chips. I tried the recipe, and it was really good, but not exactly what I wanted. I adapted the recipe to please my taste buds, and I thought I had nailed it. Just to be sure I tested on my family at our Mother’s Day BBQ. Everyone loved it, but I didn’t photograph it before it was demolished… Now, my sister is visiting from Scotland and I decided to make it for our family get together yesterday. Devoured instantly!

Fruit Salsa & Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Fruit Salsa Ingredients:
1 lb. strawberries, 1 1/2 c. raspberries, 1 golden delicious apple, 1 Anjou pear, 2 lemons, 3 Tbsp. raspberries preserves, 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar

Fruit Salsa Directions:
Mix together preserves and sugar, set aside. Zest and juice lemons. Hull strawberries and cut into small pieces. Core apples and pears into small pieces and soak them in the lemon juice for a few minutes. Cut raspberries into quarters. Mix all ingredients, except the lemon juice together. Let sit for 5 hours before serving.

Cinnamon Tortilla Chip Ingredients:
10 flour tortillas, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. cinnamon, 3 Tbsp. softened butter

Cinnamon Tortilla Chip Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix together cinnamon and sugars. Lightly rub tops of tortillas with butter and then sprinkle with cinnamon mixture. Use a pizza cutter to slice the tortilla into triangular chips. Bake for about 10 minutes or until crispy. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Store in a plastic zip top bag until ready to serve.

If you want to prepare this ahead of time I suggest to chop the fruit and mix the coating the day before and toss the fruit together the morning before serving.

I also make a great berry salsa and tropical fruit salsa.

How was your weekend?

Raspberry Lemon Spiral Cookies

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cookies, dessert, food, foodie, lemon, postaday2011, raspberry, recipe, spiral, tea cookie, tea party

I’ve felt like baking for weeks, I just didn’t have the time. I got a 100 in my course (yay!) and it feels good to be able to take my time in the kitchen. Baking! Oh, how I’ve missed you (Hubster may have missed you more). I forgot how much I love the feel out dough under my hands.

I did not have chocolate chips on hand… but I did have a lemon. Spiral cookies, it is…

Raspberry Lemon Spiral Cookies

Ingredients:
2 c. powdered sugar, 2 1/2 sticks of butter (softened), 3 1/4 c. flour, 1 lemon, 1 Tbsp. lemon extract, 1 Tbsp. raspberry extract, 1/4 Tbsp. milk, red food coloring, water

Directions:
Cream together sugar and butter until smooth, slowly mix in flour and milk. Separate dough into two batches. Zest lemon and add to one bowl, with the lemon extract and mix well. Add a few drops of food coloring and raspberry extract to other bowl and mix well. Press each ball of dough flat, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. On a floured marble slab, roll out lemon dough until it’s about 1/4″ thick. Repeat with raspberry dough. Spray (or brush) the top of the lemon dough with water. Carefully lift the pink dough onto the lemon dough. Cut the edges, to create a neat 6″ x 12″ rectangle. From the long sides, roll the dough tightly into a log. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat oven 350°F. Remove dough from fridge and slice into 1/4″ thick discs. Place on a greased baking tray for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for two minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

*Excellent dipped in white or dark chocolate! Or add jam or frosting and make a cookie sandwich. 

This is the perfect treat for a luncheon, tea party or princess party!

What’s in your oven?

Grilled Pound Cake with Lime Crème Fraîche & Blackberries

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blackberries, blackberry, breakfast, brunch, crème fraîche, dessert, food, foodie, gourmet, lime, postaday2011, pound cake, recipe, vegetarian

The first real breakfast in our house needs to be special… time for my well-known grilled pound cake with crème fraîche and seasonal fruit… mmm…

Grilled Pound Cake with Lime Crème Fraîche and Blackberries

Ingredients:
butter rum pound cake, crème fraîche, blackberries, 1 lime

Directions:
Zest the lime into the crème fraîche and set aside. Heat grill pan over medium heat. Use a bread knife to slice the pound cake. Lightly butter each side of cake, place on hot pan and grill for about 30 seconds before flipping. Remove promptly from heat. Spread crème fraîche on one slice of pound cake and top with another slice. Top with additional crème fraîche and blackberries.

Served with faux mimosas (OJ and sparkling apple juice) since Hubster has to get to work.

What’s on your breakfast plate?

Nanny Florida’s Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding

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brunch, cinnamon, dessert, family, food, foodie, nutmeg, postaday2011, pudding, recipe, rice, tradition

We called my great-grandmother Nanny Florida, because she lived in Florida. When she cooked and baked, she didn’t record her recipes online on a blog, she wrote them on index cards and tucked them away in a small metal box. I inherited this recipe box and I was looking through the pudding section…

Nanny Florida's Recipe Box

She had three recipes for rice pudding, one to be served with cream, another to be served with wine sauce and a recipe for rice custard. I plan to try each of them eventually and them create my personal recipe. This one I’m calling Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding, since it had a classic flavor. Next time I might not let it bake as long.

Nanny Florida's Old-Fashioned Rice Pudding

Ingredients:
1 1/2 qt. milk, 3/4 c. sugar, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1/8 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 2/3 c. rice

Directions:
Butter a 3 qt. baking dish. Pour 1 qt. milk into baking dish, add sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Wash rice and add to dish. Bake in at 325°F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes with fork. Pour in remaining milk and bake 1 hr, every 20 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend. Bake 30 minutes more. Serve with cream and a small pinch of nutmeg.

What family recipes do you treasure?

Flag Day Fruit Pizza

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blueberry, cookie, cream cheese frosting, dessert, food, foodie, fruit, fruit pizza, postaday2011, raspberry, recipe, red raspberry, strawberry, sugar cookie, vegetarian

Happy Flag Day Everyone!

Flag Day Fruit Pizza

Get fruit pizza recipe here.