So many peaches, so little time.

I don't think there is anything else that can really fit into this week. We have class parties, two preschool water days at my house, my oldest graduation, my 9 year olds birthday, a grandma's funeral, two baseball tournaments, a cabin trip, a friend's birthday luncheon, and on top of it all, tons and tons of peaches that need to be processed this week. They are late this year and really it is just not a good week for them to become ripe. 


However, because I hate to waste and I love peaches, I am determined to get as many of these bite-sized peaches into the freezer. Because they are so small, by the time you peel them, there is hardly anything left. I decided to make it a little simpler this year and guess what? It worked! I will share my little secret with you in case you have  a million bite-sized peaches on your tree also.

All the google searches will tell you that you have to peel your peaches, soak them in lemon juice and put them in a syrup to freeze them. I believed them but guess what? Not true. If your intention is to freeze peaches for smoothies, you can leave those healthy little peels on and skip the syrup solution. Here is what I did and they didn't brown whatsoever:


Washed those cute little peaches.


Cut them into chunks right around the pit. 


Laid them cut side down onto parchment paper on a cookie sheet.


Put them in the freezer with plastic wrap  covering them tightly. 


Within a few hours, they were frozen solid and 
ready to go into freezer bags. 


They separate real easily since they are frozen in a single layer. You can then just put as many as you want in your smoothie. So far, they have been in my freezer for a week and they haven't browned at all.


If you are freezing peaches for a pancake topping or pies, you would want to stick with the peeling and syrup recipe but this works like a gem for smoothies. It takes minutes compared to hours for the other method. 


I am even recruiting my husband to help today. I will have a freezer full come heck or high water. Have you seen the prices of frozen organic peaches? These are gold, baby.

Back to School Breakfast

    The kids are back in school. This summer was a blink. I had planned a lazy summer with lots of "kid time" but it didn't really go as outlined. My sweet grandmother broke her hip and I was blessed to be able to spend the days with her. I felt bad that the kids were minus a mom for most the summer days but thanks to good friends and fun vacations, they had a good summer. I am also thankful that they were able to learn the importance of service and that we take care of our family. Life isn't all about playtime and life certainly doesn't always go as planned. In the end, the summer was still a good one and today it all ended. Happy school days ahead!

We celebrated the end of the summer with a little back to school Peach Breakfast Cake. In my effort to create new breakfast recipes, I put this little summer fresh piece of yum together with some heavenly peaches sitting on my counter. We are dairy free around here so cooking is a little more challenging. You don't realize how much you use dairy until you stop. It just takes a little variation now and then but the end product is still great. The cheese part is the hard thing but so far, so good.

The peaches were so sweet that this tasted like dessert. Normally I would have had a little dollop of whipping cream on the side but honestly, I never missed it. It was perfect as it was. 

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you aren't on the bandwagon yet, please oh please make that your goal for the year. Keep it wholesome, hearty and homemade. Send them out the door with a full belly and a head start. Get the cold cereal out of the house and banish the pop tarts.

Try this out on the little ones:

Peach Breakfast Cake

1 egg

1/2 cup coconut sugar + 1/3 cup for topping

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 cup milk or milk substitution (I used almond milk)

5 drops of lemon oil (you can also use zest or omit)

2 cups fresh peeled and sliced peaches

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp vanilla

1 C. whole grain flour ( I used sprouted kamut/barley)

1/2 tsp. salt

3 T. coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375. 

Beat the egg and add 1/2 cup of coconut sugar. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Gently fold in oil, lemon oil, milk and vanilla. Spread mixture on the batter on the bottom of a greased 9 X13 pan and top with fresh, sliced peaches. They should cover the batter. Sprinkle

mixture of 1/3 cup coconut sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon over top of peaches. Bake for about 30 minutes or until done.

P.S. I have a third group wanting coconut oil. If you are interested, email me asap. Thanks!

I'm Freezing!!

Berries, plums, peaches, grapes. I'm Freezing them all. The summer bounty is just too great to pass up. I stock the freezer full of them this time of year for smoothies, pancake toppings and popping the frozen grapes like candy. There are certain techniques to freezing fruit. I will be most happy to share with you all, just in case you don't already know the skinny.


Strawberries: (or any berry) Wash them whole. Lay them on a kitchen towel and let them dry. Then, spread them on a cookie sheet, greens and all and cover completely with foil or plastic wrap. Put them in the freezer until solid. When they are completely hard, put them in a freezer bag. They won't stick together this way or get mooshy from the water. The green part of the berry has nutrients and tastes just fine in smoothies. I got a killer deal on some organic berries from my SIL, $1 per pound (yep) so I took a gaggle of them. Now I wish I took more. They were amazing.

Plums: Easy as pie. Just wash them, dry them slightly then cut them in slices away from the pit. Put them on a cookie sheet and freeze just like the strawberries. Put them in the freezer bag when hard and use in smoothies. They are wonderful. I have a tree full of them and never knew how to use them all up before. I have a crazy hybrid melon in my garden right now, a cross between a cucumber and honeydew (affectionately called a dewcumber) and it juices up perfectly with these plums. Somehow freezing them makes them taste even sweeter.

Peaches: peel and slice them, either with a peeler or blanch them first. put the slices in water with some lemon juice for a few minutes. Drain then put them packed together tightly in a freezer bag being careful to keep the air out. They will stick together so use smaller bags.

Grapes: Wash, dry then put in a bag to freeze. If you haven't tried this before, you will be amazed. They taste like candy. The kids will love the. Watch for great deals this time of year on organic varieties. I found many for under $2 per pound. Non organic varieties can be found for under $1 this time of year so stock up.

If you are looking for local organic here in AZ, try the ranch market on Power and Warner or try the Backyard Farmer who delivers fresh picked fruits and veggies to your door weekly. He also has deals on buckets for grains as well. Email him at thebackyardfarmer@live.com. He will email you the weekly order form. There are plenty of local farmers markets so check online for locations. Try swapping with neighbors with produce you grow also. I HATE to see great organic produce falling off the trees being wasted. Pass it on

The Mango-Honey dew salsa

The Mango-Honey Dew salsa had a change of plans. It didn't make it on the pizza as planned. It was saved for it's favorite companion; The Caribbean Taco. It is one of, if not THE favorite dish at our house. Since we only do meat once a week, we save it for our favorites. This is it. Not kidding. I have blogged it before but I will do it again so you can see the pictures. I am still licking my lips as we speak. I ate 3. I could have eaten 5. The mango's I bought were the best mango's I have ever in my whole life consumed. They were so sweet, they tasted like a mango Popsicle. It went well with my garden grown honey dew that tasted like a cucumber. I added in some of my garden peppers and onions to boot. It was perfect. I love fruit salsa's. They are great with peaches and pineapple as well. It is a great way to use up what fruit you have.

Mango-Honey Dew Salsa

2 mango's
1/2 honey dew
4 T. minced onion
1/3 C. chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno or other pepper, seeded and chopped. More if desired
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and honey to taste

Chop fruit into small pieces. Add all other ingredients and chill to allow flavors to blend. Great on fish, pizzas and chicken.

Another taco picture. I am sure you will get plenty more as we are taco folk around here. This one is as simple as it gets: honey lime chicken with the salsa on top. This is in my cookbook and somewhere long ago on this blog but I will give you it again:

Honey Lime Chicken

1 1/2 lbs shredded chicken
4 T. honey
3 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. coconut oil
2 t. chili powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
salt to taste

Let sit for a bit to allow the chicken to soak in the flavors.

These need little else along side them. We served it with cucumber and carrot slices and some grapes. That's all. A perfect summer dinner. I tried to make these vegetarian with beans instead of chicken but this was one of the very few dishes that it just couldn't be pulled off on. We reserve this for our Sunday meat dinners. Worth it.

When Life Gives You Lemons.....

Make........Lemonade Syrup for delicious instant homemade lemonade, without the high fructose corn syrup.

Ooey, Gooey lemon bars for Family Night.

Fresh Squeezed lemonade, nothing better.

Lemon cubes for later uses in recipes when you don't get the free lemons from neighbors trees.

Scrumptious Lemon Chicken Pasta from "My Kitchen Cafe" Blog. A must try.

All this brought to you by the hands of one cute little 6 year old lemon squeezer who squeezed till the hands were pruney! Thanks Tallin. You Rock!

A special thanks goes out to our friends the Greenwalds for all the lemons and citrus this season. We are deeply saddened that the free and delicious oranges giving us fresh squeezed juice daily are no longer and that we will have to buy lemons for our daily liver cleanse. Till next year! Also, thanks to my photographer, Randi, my sweet daughter who makes my blog look a little better.

If you too have lemons at your doorstep or on your trees, please don't waste them. They are so good for you and freeze beautifully. Also, check out Kara's blog under "Hey good looking" link... for yummy lemon curd.

Lemonade Syrup

(Chef Brad Recipe)

2 C. sugar

1 C. water

rind of 2 lemons, cut into strips

1/8 tsp salt

6 lemons, juiced

Boil sugar, water and lemon rind for 5 minutes. Cool and add juice of lemons. Strain the syrup and store in covered container in fridge. Last several weeks. Add a few tablespoons to a cold glass of water to desired taste.

An Apple a Day.......

This is what my kitchen will look like come Wednesday morning as my shipment of apples are delivered. I will be busy peeling, coring and canning these delicious rounds of juicy fiber. I love the smell as it fills my kitchen, it signals the arrival of fall to me. It is apple season and as a I have mentioned once or twice before, we are to eat our fruits in season as was intended by our creator. If you are in the practice of selecting your produce from a farmers market, you will be doing just that. I have been purchasing the local fresh apples, just picked at the Mesa Farmers market and the smell and taste is unbelievable. It is what an apple should taste like. Not a grainy, watery , low flavor taste that you get from the local supermarket. Anyways, now it is time for a little apple education so you know exactly why the saying goes "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Apples have been around forever. We have even tell about them in Biblical times, remember Adam and Eve? There are 100's of varieties of them and they are grown everywhere around the world. They were used medicinally to cure many ailments especially with the Greeks who often prescribed apple juice as the first known antidepressant. The Greeks would also serve them raw at the end of a meal to stimulate proper digestion. The apple is filled with insoluble fiber which adds bulk to the intestinal tract keeping in water to help cleanse the intestines and move the food along. It is also full of soluble fiber which helps to prevent cholesterol build up. Another component of the apple is the content of flavonoids which is an antioxidant used to improve immune function; thus, as the saying goes, keeps "the doctor away."
The pectin content in the apple also helps regulate blood sugar level controlling the insulin level. This helps the sugar to release slowly unlike sugary junk food. The apple contains many nutrients such as folate, Vitamin A, C, and Calcium. In addition, the apple is great to munch on for massaging gums and cleansing teeth. Make sure you leave the peel on as it contains 1/2 of the Vitamin C and contains much of the fiber. There is 3.7 grams of fiber in one medium apple. Don't give in to those pre-sliced and peeled apples in those cute little packages. We already went over that with baby carrots. Do it the old fashioned way and cut them yourselves. My Costco now carries organic apples which I have to say were incredibly delicious and a great price. I love you Costco!

If you also find yourself with an abundance of apples, here is my apple crisp recipe that is simply delicious, especially if you don't leave it in the oven too long and have apple mush instead of apple crisp. I know a girl.....

Apple Crisp

6-8 apples
1/3-1/3 cups sugar
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
3 T. flour

Peel and slice apples into desired size.Toss lemon juice and above ingredients. Place in 9X13 pan and top with:

2/3 C. brown sugar
1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. oats
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/3 C. butter.

Mix until crumbly. Use hands, foods processor or pastry cutter. Crumble over apples. Bake at 375 for about 30 min or until apples are done.

So, do as the Greeks !!! Eat an apple after every meal and keep those Dr. bills down.Add a little natural peanut butter for a perfect snack. YUM.

Beautiful Mangos......

I have to be honest, when I hear the word "Mango" I can't help but think of the old Saturday night skit....you know....."Don't toucha the Mango." But, the mango is a great fruit loaded with superb qualities. For instance, as evident by the beautiful orange color , the mango has tons of Vitamin A and C. One mango will give you 40% of your daily fiber. For those of you who have a bowl issue, eat up and you will be feeling great! The other great quality of the mango is its tryptophan content. Tryptophan helps to regulate serotonin levels and serotonin is what stabilizes our moods. I am sure NONE of us need this! I don't particularly like the taste of the mango plain, but I sure love it with other ingredients. I love mango salsa especially on my Caribbean tacos, recipe under the recipe label below. It is great on the macadamia nut chicken under My Kitchen Cafe blogsite. It takes such a little bit of time to make but would be great in so many recipes. Try this out. Even my kids love it. It is also great over a brick of cream cheese with crackers for an appetizer. Yummo!

Mango Salsa

1 medium mango, finely chopped

3 T red onion, finely chopped

2 T roughly chopped cilantro

1 Jalapeno seeded and finely chopped ( I used about 4-5 jarred jalapeno slices)

Juice of one lime.

Combine all together and let chill to blend flavors.

Recipe from Kitchen Cafe site

Millions of Peaches.....

I know this girl that told her husband that the peach tree didn't need anymore pruning. I now know this girl who has a peach bush instead of a peach tree. This same girl is now left with a million little tiny peaches that take one hour just to slice two sandwich bags full of peach filling. I , I mean this girl, is still slicing away as she hates to waste food and they are quite sweet. With millions of peaches there needs to be millions of recipes so I had to help her and create some great recipes. My fuzzy little friends with Vitamin A and C made into a great little muffin Saturday morning. I was proud of this creation and my daughter told me that I had to blog it and tell everyone that she loves them. Here you go, just in case you too have a peach bush. (sorry husband, next time I will let you prune to your hearts desire.)

Tropical Peach Muffins

1 1/2 whole wheat flour

1/2 cup coconut sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup milk or kefir

1 egg

1 cup peeled and diced fresh peaches

Preheat oven to 400. combine dry ingredients then stir in wet ingredients. Fold in peaches. Fill 12 muffin cups that are lined or sprayed. Top with the following mixture:

1/2 cup coconut

1/3 cup packed brown sugar or coconut sugar

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

Stir then mix in 2 T melted butter. 

Mix until crumbly then top each muffin with some.

Bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes.

The Antioxidant Superstar

The Strawberry: the antioxidant superstar known anciently for its medicinal purposes. Today, we know it as that little piece of fruity goodness topping our pancakes, ice cream and in a pie. To give you a little history on this berry you must go back many centuries. The name was derived from the fact that the berries were "strewn" all over the plants. Strewn berry became Strawberry. There are accounts of the berry as early as the 1300's but it wasn't a major staple for eating until later. At this point, it was used largely medicinally by the early Romans. They would use it for digestive aid and as a skin tonic. The berry was prescribed to relieve diarrhea and the berry was also smashed up and put on a sun burn or a blemish. Those in high society would eat these at a banquet to show their status. Today they are still served between matches at Wimbledon with whipped cream.

The nutritional facts on these berries put them on list of the top 100 superfoods. Just one cup will give you 140% of the daily recommended dose of Vitamin C, this is more than many citrus foods! It also contains fiber, folate , potassium and antioxidants. They are packed with flavonoids to help cholesterol. They contain ellargic acid which help "bind" the cancer causing chemicals to make them inactive. They also prevent the binding of carcinogens to DNA reducing cancer risks.

Of course, the down side to these delicious snacks is that they are sprayed with pesticides unless you can find them organically grown and want to shell out 5$ per pound. I do my best but just wash them as best as I can. I guess since they contain antioxidants, maybe they can help rid themselves of pesticides? Good thought anyways.

For you local ladies, Sprouts just put them on sale till next Wednesday for $.97 per pound. They are beautiful. I just made 15 cups of freezer jam today with them and it only took me 45 minutes. No peeling at all. Easy. I love to use it for my granola and thin it a bit for syrup. Sure, there is tons of sugar but much better than the stuff you can buy in the store. Just make sure you buy the pectin that doesn't require you to use corn syrup. I used the Sure Jell brand today.

You can also freeze the berries. Just wash them and let them dry on paper towels. Lay them on a cookie sheet in a single layer and put saran wrap on top. Put them in your freezer and when hard, put them in a freezer bag. Much cheaper than buying them already frozen.

Another tip, only wash your berries just before serving them. They will keep much better!

My favorite plain pancake recipe I use when I want to smother them in fresh berries is this Whole Wheat Griddle Cake recipe. I now switched to making my own whipped cream since I can't find one that is suitable for eating. The only cream I find is organic. It is crazy that the companies can't even keep MSG out of cream! Try these delicious babies out.

Whole Wheat Country Griddle Cakes

1 1/4 C Whole Wheat Flour

1 1/2 C Buttermilk

1/3 C Instant Cream of Wheat (DRY)

1 Egg

1/3 C Sugar

1 t. Baking Powder

1 t. Baking Soda

1/4 C oil

1/2 t. Salt

Going Bananas? Maybe you should be!

My Grandfather-in-law always sends me cute little emails to read, but this one in particular caught my eye! It was research from a professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class. He was teaching his class about bananas. Now, I always knew bananas were good for you. I knew they were a good source of potassium and energy, but I never knew just how good they were for you. I have been enlightened. After you read this, you will definitely want to go bananas! Let me share:

"Bananas contain three natural sugars- sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90 minute work out. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

The banana isn't just a source of energy, however. It can also help overcome and prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions.

Depression: The banana contains tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts to serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels which affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: Extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. FDA has allowed the banana industry to now make claims for the fruits ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: Research has shown that the potassium packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. It helps reduce swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Vitamin B help calm the nervous system.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because it is soft and smooth. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates you body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels.

Warts: Take a piece of bananas skin and place it on the wart with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a band aid or surgical tape."

When you compare a banana to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals.

I loved this article and just had to quote it for you. I love reading about the amazing healing powers of food. We really have all we need to make us healthy right in our grocery stores. So, if you are not going bananas yet, maybe it's time; especially when all of those little monkeys around the house are making you a little crazy!