Pickled Peaches

I've been doing a lot of canning last week and this week. This is one of many posts about all the wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables that have come my way lately.


On Sunday, I went with my Aunt Tootsie to a peach orchard in Hollanville, Georgia, Griggs Orchards. Hollanville, Georgia is in Pike County, about 60 miles south of Atlanta. My aunt has been going here for years and knew how to get there....thank goodness. It was a lovely drive on country roads and we had homemade peach ice cream at the farm stand when we got there. It was a great treat on such a hot day!

These are the clingstone variety. Later on the cling free peaches will be ready. Those will be perfect for making peach jam. I bought a large basket of peaches, about 60 or so. This is a small portion of what I got.










On Monday I made pickled peaches. They are seasoned with fresh ginger, cinnamon sticks and cloves. These will be a welcome treat around Thanksgiving and Christmas. But I think I'll have to break into them long before then!

Easy, Tasty Chicken

My friend Ann told me about a chicken recipe she had tried. I took the idea and made up my own version. It's a boneless, skinless chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach.

Here's how I did it:
Butterfly the chicken breast, being careful not to cut all the way through. Salt and pepper the inside, smear with softened goat cheese, add chopped sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach.


Then close up the breast and secure with toothpicks.



Salt and pepper the outside and drizzle with olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until the breast is cooked through. Let the chicken rest before you slice it.



When you slice the chicken, you get the great colors of the goat cheese, tomato and spinach.


I served the chicken over these noodles I've recently found. They're in the Kosher section of the grocery store, made by Manischewitz and are called Klusky. They're a great size and width and would also be the perfect noodle for chicken noodle soup.

This is a really fast meal to make and you get your protein and vegetables all in one! And be sure to try the noodles. Enjoy!

Graeters Ice Cream

Oh my, you have to try this ice cream. Last weekend, we had a girl's weekend here in Atlanta. A friend was here from Kentucky and was talking about this ice cream, Graeter's. She said, "you have to try it, you can buy it at Kroger". So, yesterday I went to see if I could find it. Kroger had about 8 different flavors but I chose Vanilla and Coconut with Chocolate Chips.

It is really, really delicious! Creamy, and almost like homemade, fresh churned, only thicker and creamier. The chocolate chips are more like chocolate chunks, big bites of creamy chocolate. The vanilla is really rich....a little will do!





The way they make it is an interesting process that you can read about at graeters.com. They make two gallons at a time in French Pot style containers. Yum!

In the Kentucky, Ohio, etc areas, apparently they have storefront locations. You know that has to be good!

Thanks to my friend Donna for sharing this great new find! I have to pace myself though. The first ingredient is cream and it has about 300 calories for 1/2 cup. Enjoy!

Bakelite and Salad On The Porch

We had another lovely dinner on the porch last night.....salad with grilled chicken, greens, red bell pepper, cucumber, tomato and homemade vinaigrette. So good.



I have a great set of bakelite forks, knives and spoons that I got from my mother-in-law. They had belonged to her mother. My husband says he remembers using these when visiting his grandmother. I love this stuff! When we cleaned out my in-law's house several years ago, this was one of the things no one wanted....except me. I have many, many pieces from that clean out day and love them. Whenever I use something that belonged to my husband's grandmother, he tells me what he remembers about it from his childhood. Makes for great dinner conversation.

Our salad was the perfect meal for a hot evening. We often just have a huge salad for dinner. It's a great way to use up items from the refrigerator and also eat lots of fresh vegetables. And I like to set the table nicely so when we do have the rare occasion to sit down and have dinner together, it seems a little special.

We both cleaned our plates.

Visit To Chelsea Market

On a recent trip to New York, I visited the Chelsea Market. It's on 9th Avenue, between 15th and 16th Streets and is located in the original building where the National Biscuit Company operated in the 1800s. It's also been featured in the reality show Next Food Network Star on the Food Network.

We walked through and I of course loved all the great food options available. What a fantastic dinner party you could put together with food bought here!

There was fresh fish galore, awesome cheese options, fancy terrines.




Look at these great cupcakes!


There was a place called People's Pops. The girl here was actually shaving ice from this huge block. Then, fresh juice was added to make tasty shaved ice treats. Yum!


Just another great way to spend a morning in New York City. A good time was had by all!