Twenty orbs of summery goodness.
Last week, I split a half bushel of peaches with two neighbors. The fine folks at Trogg’s Hollow, our ultra-local neighborhood farm, took orders and went to Rendleman Orchards in downstate Alto Pass.
We had anticipated that a half bushel would give us each 10-15 peaches – a slightly daunting challenge for a person living alone, given the fleeting perfection of summer peaches, but I was excited by the possibilities.
When Jody called to let me know she had picked up our half bushel, she cautioned that there were more than anticipated. I brought my basket over and loaded up, walking home through the neighborhood with several pounds of fragrant fresh fruit. Twenty peaches in all.
I started eating the first one before I had even closed the door behind me. It was delicious – about a day from perfection, so I left the basket on the counter overnight. The next morning, the kitchen smelled divine, and I ate one with breakfast. The juice dribbled down my chin and tasted warm and sunny, like summer.
Thursday night, it was Iron Chef: Peaches at my house. I started by making peach daiquiris, blending a peach with rum and a squeeze of lime juice. Divine. I made peach crisp and peach-oatmeal-blueberry bread and muffins. While it was all in the oven, I retreated to the hammock in the backyard and sipped my daiquiri under the stars.
But there were still more peaches, and despite eating them for breakfast and snacks, they were starting to turn. Somewhat frantic, Sunday night I pureed three with some yogurt, added ginger and lemon juice and poured them into popsicle molds. After they were partially frozen, I added some crystalized ginger, which definitely tempers the sweetness a bit.
And yet, there were still more peaches! I had one for a morning snack today, and eyed the last two suspiciously. They had started to shrivel just a bit, but cooking could salvage them. So how to close out my week of peaches?
I’d heard that grilling peaches really intensifies the flavor, so I decided to try Jenn’s grilled peaches with balsamic glaze. The grill was already nice and hot for my eggplant caponata, so it was a cinch to slice the last two peaches and throw them on the heat. The balsamic glaze was easy. They were fantastic, though I think I don’t even need the glaze. I have two halves left in the fridge for later in the week – perhaps I’ll just warm them up and add a little dollop of vanilla ice cream? And there’s still another serving of crisp, which will be great after a late night of class tomorrow.
What’s your favorite way to eat peaches? And is there a fruit that better epitomizes summer?
Adventures of the Former Elginista 
Glad you liked the grilled peaches! If you still have too many, you can always freeze them for a taste of summer in deep winter. Boil a pot of water, dunk the peaches for about 30sec, a few at a time, then the skins will slip off easily. Slice and lay on a sheet pan in one layer and freeze. When they are frozen through, bag them up for longterm storage. Steel cut oats with summer peaches is heaven on a cold winter day!
That sounds easy enough! I had hoped to use up this entire batch – and I did – but I may buy a few more this week for freezing. My freezer is tragically small so I have to be selective about what gets stored – and I know I’ll be roasting some roma tomatoes soon.
YUM! We want to do a CSA half share (referencing your other post). Peaches are so good. White peaches are my favorite.
I really wanted to do a share, but they’re designed for a family of 4 – far too much of me. I posted my dilemma on Facebook, and a neighbor offered to split it. She and her husband take 2/3 and I take a third. Sometimes it’s a bit tricky to split up, say, a single zucchini or two tomatoes, but it works pretty well. I think a third of a share is still a bit much for a single person, though! I’m really having to consciously plan my meals to use veggies, which is a good problem to have.