Tasty Tuesday: Fresh Peach Dessert

I'm loving how juicy, fresh, and delicious the peaches are this year at The Red Barn! This recipe comes from Jodi, of Dan Lund Photography. Feel free to schedule your family photo shoot, and then stop by the Barn for more family fun!

Ingredients:
Graham cracker crust
2 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 Tbls corn starch
1 small package peach jello
1 package cream cheese (softened)
1 large container cool whip
5 large Red Barn peaches
Directions:

Make or purchase a graham cracker crust. In a small bowl, blend cream cheese and half of cool whip. Pour and spread over cooled crust. Now add a layer of fresh sliced peaches. In a sauce pan bring to a boil the water, sugar, and corn starch. Add peach jello. Once dissolved, pour mixture over the peaches and refrigerate until set. Top with remaining cool whip if desired.This simple recipe will be a hit with the entire family! Thanks Jodi, for providing the recipe and photos for this Tasty Tuesday!

Garden Girls: Harvest Time

It's been a while since we checked in with our Gardening Girls crew, so we wanted to show you an update on their progress.

Paige was disappointed in how her container garden growth has been coming along. It seems like nothing really took off and thrived. Here are what her herbs are looking like:Her peppers, tomoates, and flowers didn't survive the late cold we had this year.

AnaLee was able to grow many strawberries and herbs, along with lettuce and pole beans in her planter boxes. She has now cleared several of them out and is focusing on her corn and squash in her regular garden.

Janae's garden did amazingly well. Just take a look for yourself! I don't know how she does it considering she was pregnant/ taking care of a newborn the whole time!It seems like the trellises have been working out nicely, and makes the garden look more tidy, and easier to weed then a traditional garden.

Chelsea's garden is doing well, but planted everything too close togehter. It's a jungle out there! When she battles through all the plant leaves and vines she's happy to find many tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchinis. Everything is growing pretty well.

Canning Tomatoes Review

Our tomato canning class, held on August 14th, was our most informative class yet! There was a full demonstration and question/answer period, so everyone left with the confidence to can correctly. I learned that since Utah's elevation is higher than average, it actually takes longer to can than I previously thought since the boiling water temperature here isn't high enough to kill some bacteria that can grow on your food. I also learned that acidity has largely been bred out of tomatoes, so it's important to add some form of acid, like lemon juice, to your canned vegetables. I have also been over tightening the lid rings, which means not all of the air has escaped from my jars, leaving room for possible spoilage! Utah State University has many more tips and tricks at their extension website: Http://extension.usu.edu/utah. If you missed this class, but are interested in learning more about correct canning techniques for the state of Utah, make sure to check out our next class, Canning Peaches and Pears, on Saturday, September 11th from 10-12.

Tasty Tuesday: Peachy Bread

3 cups sliced fresh peaches 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 6 tablespoons sugar 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup shortening 1 teaspoon baking powder 2 eggs 1 teaspoon soda 1 cup finely chopped pecans 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Place peaches and 6 tablespoons sugar in container of electric blender; process until pureed. (Mixture should yield about 2 1/4 cups.) Combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar and shortening; cream well. Add eggs and mix well. Add peach puree and dry ingredients, mixing until ingredients are moistened. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Spoon batter into 2 well greased and floured 9x5x3-inch loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 55-60 minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes in pan; turn out on rack, and let cool completely. Perfect when topped with Red Barn jam! Yield: 2 Loaves

Tasty Tuesday: I want your recipe

Peaches, peaches, peaches! I love the taste of a fresh juicy peach (you know, the kind that run down your entire arm!) Today I'd love for you to submit your favorite peach recipe for anything peach - cobbler, crisp, anything! If we feature your recipe, you will recieve a free sack of peaches from The Red Barn (available for pick up only).

Peaches are now available at The Red Barn!

Class Reminder

Saturday, August 14th, from 10-12, will be our canning with tomatoes and salsa class. It will be taught by USU extension specialist Jana Darrington. This will be informative and fun. Don't let your ripening produce go to waste! See you there!

Tasty Tuesday: Blueberry French Toast

Today's recipe is from Real Mom Kitchen. You know it's a good one because she just landed her own cookbook deal - so snag this recipe while you can before it's no longer available for free!

Overnight Blueberry French Toast with Blueberry Syrup

French Toast:

* 12 slices bread, cut into cubes (Texas toast and cinnamon bread work well)
* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut in cubes
* 1 cup Red Barn blueberries (fresh or frozen)
* 12 large eggs
* 1/3 cup maple syrup
* 2 cups milk (I use 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream)

Syrup:

* 1 cup sugar
* 1 cup water
* 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
* 1 cup Red Barn blueberries (fresh or frozen)
* 1 Tablespoon butter

1. Arrange 1/2 of the bread cubes in a greased 9 x 13 pan.
2. Sprinkle cream cheese cubes and blueberries evenly over the bread cubes.
3. Top with remaining bread cubes.
4. Mix together eggs, milk, and syrup.
5. Pour over bread cubes and cover pan with foil. Let chill in refrigerator overnight.
6. Bake covered with foil at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until fluffy and golden. Top with sauce. Serves 8.

Sauce: Cook water, sugar, and cornstarch until thickened. Stir in blueberries and simmer for 10 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted. Serve over the french toast.

*If you don't want to make your own syrup, make sure to try one of our many great syrup flavors. I think Red Barn raspberry syrup would be a fun twist!

Tasty Tuesday: zucchini bread

Now that our gardens are actually giving off produce, I thought it would be fun to do a recipe using a vegetable that most of us are able to grow in our gardens. Today I bring you a twist on the traditional zucchini bread. It comes from the Real Moms Real Views site. We wanted to thank them again for hosting our giveaway last week. I will share the Hawaiian Zucchini bread, but they also have one for chocolate zucchini bread as well that you can check out here.

Hawaiian Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups gated zucchini
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans.

Step 1: In a large bowl mix together eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, and zucchini. (I decided to do 1 cup sugar and 1 cup splenda to help cut down on the calories in case I end up eating both loaves. )

Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix together flour, soda, baking powder, and salt. Add to the zucchini batter and mix well.

Step 3: Stir in pecans, pineapple, and coconut. Pour into loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour, or until browned. (It only took mine 50 minutes).

Let cool in pan for 30 minutes before removing. Finish cooling on cooling racks. Eat and enjoy!

Cherry Pit Spit Pictures

I think everyone would agree that all those who attended The Fourth Annual Cherry Pit Spit had a great time. The weather was nearly perfect and the company was superb. I wanted to post some pictures of my favorite Pit Spit moments! My favorite part is the pit spit faces! Below are some of this years top pit spitters -









This year brought some pretty tough competition! In the kids division, Isaac and Abby took first place. Abby even spit further than her mother, and she's only 4 years old! I think we may have a future cherry pit spit champion on our hands.
In the 9-12 group our winner was Raquel Rogers spitting an impressive 35 feet. She actually spit far enough to qualify in the ladies round as well. Way to go Raquel!
Liberty Mortonsen spit 39 feet 11 inches to win the ladies round.
The Champion of the Cherry Pit Spit, Josh Galovich, spit 54 feet, 4 inches.
In close second was Alan Marvin with 54 feet 2 inches, followed by Roger Weight who spit 53 feet 5 inches.
The children also enjoyed the face painting, caricatures, and games.




We would like to thank everyone who came out to make this event a success.
We would also like to thank our sponsors for the great prizes they provided! Hope to see you all again next year!