Putting Up Peaches

On Monday, the boys and I drove down to see my mother- and father-in-law once more before school starts. On the top of my list was picking peaches.  You may remember we picked peaches a few years ago.  May I say, I am not a big peach fan (it's the fuzz) but I make an exception for these peaches.  They are delicious!  Grandma, the boys and I picked about four boxes of peaches, just the ones that seemed ripe.  We enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa, and playing with the chickens, and came home with two of those boxes.  Boy, are we enjoying them!  

On Wednesday, I made Spiced Peach Preserves from here.  I did not have cardamom but otherwise, followed the recipe pretty close this time.  I realized I must have done half batches before, as I did not recall the pot being quite so full.  And I actually had vanilla beans in my pantry, which I know I did not have previously.   

I also have a couple of cousins in town this week, Gabe and Luke, who brought tomatoes and peaches from their own yard.  Thursday, I made a cobbler with their peaches, which was practically gone when I got home from knitting that night.  Well, what could I expect with six hungry men in the house?  I'm lucky they saved some for me!

Yesterday morning, Luke helped me can some peaches and we used these instructions.  This was my first time canning whole-ish fruit.  It was fun, much quicker than cooking down preserves, but there were no spoons to lick.  

And of course, we've eaten a lot straight out of the box!