Thanks for the Great advice on Freezing without doing the Pectin sugar syrup way. Also I read back in a book about 10 years ago.. our forefathers and mothers use to take barrels or Brandy and Preserved their peaches that way. Modern times would be is take 24 oz mason jars- Peel and Pit your Peaches cut in 1/2 -Sterilize Mason Jars after sterilized jars set up- Stick a cinnamon stick a the innards of a vanilla Bean (of course both are optional but it's to give it more flavor- fill Jar with peach leaving at least 1in from top-..Warm a Med expensive Brandy (plain Unflavored- Not the cheapest not the most expensive) Or you can even do it w/ Southern comfort- ( make sure you get enough Brandy ( it's not as cheap now as it was back then) warm brandy on medium heat ( do not boil but make sure it's Hot- Take off Heat- and fill up jars- Put on lids and screw on tops . Put in canner and do a hot bath for 10 Min. let it cool down for 24 hours to make sure tops have set and sealed.. Label and set date.. Alcohol is a Natural Preservative.. No sugar or Pectin needed- Can last for probably 3= years- ,, so what do you do with the peaches-?.. Peach Pie.. Peach Jam it with have the flavors of the Brandy and spices but the alcohol will Burn off-- What do with Brandy? well now you have All Natural Flavored Vanilla Cinnamon Peach Brandy-- This could be used as a sipping brandy for special occasions.. Holidays etc.. I Make Rum, Bourbon and Brandy Balls around the Holidays-Make a Brandy Cake (Instead of rum or Bourbon) Marinade a Duck, Turkey Pheasant, or Chicken In a Baking Bag and Let it Cook in a Baking Bag- You will have the most succulent tender bird.. and the alcohol cooks off.. Save enough put it in a Gravy pitcher.. Light it on fire and pour over your Bird.. for a flare of elegance.. (it burns Off)

I also dehydrate foods in my old Harvest Maid. I love it, it has a fan and a temperature setting, 9 large trays and it's great for making yogurt too. I get my dehydrating information from the Ball Blue Book and from Michigan State University's web site, Preserving Food Safely. I do freeze eggs, but I beat up two, put them into a separate container and use them for baking. I don't freeze milk because of that change in texture mentioned above. I like some things frozen and some things canned. I always blanch and freeze asparagus, then I thaw it, put it on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast it, just like fresh asparagus. It's pretty darned good (although not as good as fresh, LOL). I also freeze corn, but I can carrots and beans. I freeze celery and peppers, usually already chopped and measured, to use in salsa, Habanero Gold jam, chili, etc. I don't care for stuffed peppers but my stepmom tops and cores them and stacks them, one inside another, for stuffed peppers. She takes them out frozen, stuffs them and bakes them. I freeze french fries by the tens of pounds, and I've chopped and frozen onions but even double bagging them the whole darned freezer smelled like onion. I would think shallots would be the same, but maybe if you have a foodsaver it would help with the aroma. I dehydrate onions and shallots since Craftyrn sent me a jar of dehydrated onions and I found how handy they were! I freeze swiss chard and collard greens, just steam them and freeze them in ziplock bags. I even freeze sliced green tomatoes to fry in the winter and I grate extra zucchini and pack that into ziplock bags for zucchini bread in January. Oh, and welcome to the Cooking Forum. You might try checking at Harvest too, lots of canning/freezing/drying/sausage making going on over there! Annie

Oh, my! I can't deal with an oven without mitts. My great auntie made lovely potholders but I can't use them. My skin cries. :) Word of caution--if the mitts you got aren't water shedding, don't use them near the hot water from the bain marie. It's like touching a hot pot with a wet potholder or towel, but your can't drop it until you can get the mitt off. Most are fine, but some are just pretty fabric. I have a pair of cute pink ones that I was given. Only, really, for taking a hot pot to the table because they're just cotton so not safe enough around water, and too pretty to use around spatter that will stain. :) The bread pudding will still be sweet, because there is sugar in the gingerbread, but it's going to have sausage and lots of spices and fresh ginger and onions. The other bread is one of my sourdough starter discard breads, also from the freezer, and it's very sour, so I'm hoping they'll cancel each other out. :) Congrats on delighting your suffering friend!!

Use packing peanuts. They act as an insulator & will keep stuff frozen in transit a bit longer. Crumbled newspaper also works as an insulator but not as well as the peanuts. Pack the cookies in tins, if possible, to hold shifting to a minimum. I also like to pack each type of cookie separately to avoid mingling of flavors. If you're sending decorated cut-out cookies wrap each cookie individually 'cause they break so easily. Bar cookies ship very well as do drop cookies. I wrap quick breads first in plastic wrap & then in foil. If you have a vac-packer, freeze the cookies & then vac-pack...same with the quick bread. /tricia