A quick trip to "God's Country" and bringing home some treats!

 My hubby just returned from a quick trip to visit his family in the Okanagan.  Sadly, I was unable to accompany him this time...but he did bring back some treats! It is a 5 hour drive from home, and a beautiful scenic drive, the mountains are gorgeous.

Even in bad weather, still gorgeous!

If you've never been to the Okanagan, then I must tell you that you are missing out! It is "God's Country" indeed...take a look...

The Thompson Okanagan region is renowned for its golf courses, orchards, ski resorts and Wineries/Vineyards as well as the wildly varied landscape. The highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies is here, as is a waterfall twice the height of Niagara Falls and Canada's only true desert environment. Each year, outdoor enthusiasts flock to the Thompson Okanagan to hike, cross-country ski, snowshoe, fish, kayak, canoe, camp and view wildlife.

My hubby grew up in Oliver, British Columbia which is in the Okanagan Valley. The Okanagan Valley is one of the warmest regions in all of Canada. During the summer months, visitors are offered countless sandy beaches, hot sun, and a variety of outdoor and water activities. Okanagan Lake provides the valley not only with excellent swimming but is also a spectacular backdrop to the many exceptional wineries and the beautiful fruit orchards. During the winter months, the Okanagan offers popular ski resorts located in the rolling hills of the valley. The local wineries are a MUST for anyone visiting the area.

 

 Unfortunately, a week before Mike's visit to his hometown of Oliver, his high school, Southern Okanagan Secondary School  (the town's only high school) burned down. Our nephew Matthew was starting his first year there. The school was undergoing an expansion and renovations, luckily the new part of the school was not affected by the fire, thanks to the construction of a fire wall separating the old from the new. The fire chief suspects arson. Since it is the only High School in Oliver, with about 400 students, they are having to use a nearby Church and portables as alternatives for now. Mike was very saddened by what he saw.

 Oliver and the Okanagan in general are not stranger's to fire. Every year, during the hot summer months this area looses hectares of forest and some homes to wildfires.

The Okanagan is well known for it's orchards and vineyards,  it produces a variety of fruits & vegetables, and some of the best wines you'll ever taste. 

Click here to read more about the wineries.

 
Okay, enough with the  amateur "tourism review" let's talk TREATS!

Oliver and The Okanagan in general produces some of the best fruit I have ever tasted!

He brought home some beautiful, big, sweet,  peaches...

Can you say: "YUM"?

 Peaches aren't just delicious, they are pretty too!

If you like peaches, here's a recipe I thought I'd share with you:

It's from Canadian Living.

 This is the perfect way to celebrate B.C.'s peach harvest,

no matter where you live.

This recipe makes 12 servings.

Okanagan Peach Cake
Photography by Edward Pond

Juicy, ripe Okanagan peaches find a happy home nestled in rich sour cream coffee cake batter.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour 

1 tsp (5 mL) baking powder  

1/2 tsp (2 mL) baking soda  

1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt  

1 pinch nutmeg 

1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened  

3/4 cup (175 mL) packed brown sugar  

2 eggs  

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla  

2/3 cup (150 mL) sour cream  

2 firm ripe peaches, (12 oz/340 g total), peeled, pitted and cut in 6 pieces each

1 tbsp (15 mL) icing sugar

Preparation:

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.

In large bowl, beat butter with brown sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time; beat in vanilla. Stir in sour cream until smooth.

Stir in flour mixture just until smooth; scrape into greased 9-inch (2.5 L) springform pan. Spread batter evenly in pan; smooth top.

Arrange peach slices over batter in circle around edge of pan. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 50 minutes.

Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; let cool completely. Dust with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

He also brought home a box of my favorite apples, big, crisp, juicy MacIntosh's, I just love them!

MMMMMM!

What could be better than apple pie? Doesn't this one just look scrumptious? YUM!

Use your own pie crust recipe, but try this for the filling:

 5 to 6 cups MacIntosh apples, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash salt
2 tablespoons cold butter

Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

Lay 1/2 the pastry, rolled out to about 1/8" thickness, in the bottom of the pie pan and press it in gently to lay flat in the pan. Leave the excess crust hanging over the edges for now.

Place peeled, sliced apples in a bowl. Mix together the sugar, flour, salt and cinnamon. Pour over sliced apples and mix. Fill the pie pan with the apples and pat down with a spoon. Dot the filling with pieces of butter.

Moisten the lip of the pie pan with water. Place the top layer of rolled out crust over the filling, making sure crust reaches outer edges of the pie pan all around. Seal the edge and flute all around.

Take a fork and poke the pie top in several places to create vents for steam to escape. Bake for 50 minutes, until pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling through the vents.

Let cool a bit before cutting to allow the filling to settle.

Makes one 9" pie.

Don't forget to top with vanilla ice cream!

Enjoy.

I hope you enjoyed your little "tour" and information session on the Beautiful Okanagan. It is just one of the gems British Columbia, Canada has to offer! Come visit us!

and have yourself an apple!