ADIEU TO LA PÊCHE

                                                  

Wow, Autumn is upon us, and it’s almost time to bid farewell to my outside shower and local peaches.  I’m sad L.  To me, peaches exemplify summer.  They look like summer.  They taste like sunshine and they feel like……ick, ick, oh yikes, they feel like tennis balls!  Only you have to eat them!  Put that fuzzy stuff in your mouth and I CAN’T DO IT!  I can’t even watch someone else do it.  It gives me the willies.

But I do love them.  I just need a designated peach picker, holder, carrier, peeler guy to defuzz them.  That would be Mike.

Peaches, which are believed to have originated in Persia, actually migrated to that area of the world from China.  Thank you China… you rock.  Alas, like all beauty queens, the peach was only valued for its looks, - its beautiful blossoms, - rather than its small, sour, ornamental fruit.  But, when it made its way to the Middle East, it thrived in the warmer, sunnier climate.  Sort of like Mike in the summer, but without the tan.

Although most commercial peaches are grown in California, Georgia and New Joisey, really good, sweet, juicy peachy peaches, like everything else grown locally are best.  Unfortunately, they are also fuzzier.  How fair is that?

Peaches, yellow or white, come in either cling – that pit ain’t coming out no matter how much you swear at it – and freestone which has, well, a free stone that is easy to remove.  I can’t tell them apart, so I always ask my farmer which type they are.  You are buying your peaches from a local farmer, right?

P.S.  I have a confession to make – so here goes.  Bless me, Julia, for I have sinned… I wanted ladyfingers for a quickie Tiramisu and I BOUGHT SOME!

At a local supermarket!  I’m so ashamed.  But, I didn’t use them.  I couldn’t bring myself to open the package, so I put it on top of my microwave oven and forgot about them until today, five weeks later.  THEY ARE FINE.  Soft.  No mold.  Pristine.  Holy Crap!  The ingredient list goes on, and on and ooooonnnnn, and they only things I recognize are eggs, flour and sugar.  So, as an ongoing experiment, I put them back and will report the date of their demise. 

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PEACH SALSA

2 ripe peaches

1/4 cup diced red or sweet onion

1/4 cup diced bell pepper, any color

1 small chili, - jalapeno or whatever

Juice of 1 lime

1 Tablespoon finely chopped mint, cilantro or parsley

Peel (Mike’s job), pit and cube peaches.  Add peppers, lime juice and chopped herb.  Mix thoroughly and refrigerate until chilled.  Great over grilled fish, chicken or pork.  You’re welcome!

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For a printer friendly copy of our Peach Salsa go to our web site at http://www.stoneturtlebaking.com/webdocs/recipes.htm .