My peaches are in!  I inherited a small peach tree in my backyard which blooms each spring and produces bushels of sweet, juicy peaches every August. At first, when the harvest came I went into bake and preserve mode, making chutney, cobbler  and pie like a mad woman.  After all, there is NOTHING like home made peach pie made from peaches still warm from the sun. Sounds great, right?  Until I started to pack on the pounds...

Plan B. Faced with a never ending supply of ripe peaches, I learned how to make freezer jam and I froze the rest of the peaches for the fall and winter.  (OK, I still make one summer pie) Freezer jam is great, no cooking and not hot kitchen.  I find traditional recipes too sweet, though, so I cut back on the sugar and my results are more of a compote than a jam.  That's fine by me, though.  Freezer jam is easy and you can buy handy plastic freezer jam jars in the grocery store that won't shatter with the cold.

I also try and use peaches in regular recipes.  Peach salsa over white fish or chicken, peaches tossed in arugula and goat cheese,  grilled peaches with a red meat, and of course, I toss them into any summer sangria.

 Good peach salsa

2 ripe, but firm medium peaches

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice1/4 cup finely chopped red onion1/2 cup diced red and/or green bell pepper

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon (or to taste) minced jalapeno pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Chop, gently toss in bowl, let sit a bit. This is great with salty corn chips, on a crisp flat bread cracker spread with cream cheese or goat cheese, and adds a summer freshness to grilled halibut or chicken.

My mother-in-law, an excellent home cook, introduced me to home made peach pie. How did I miss this as a child?

Babs' summer peach pie

(Recipe calls for double pie crust)

1 egg, beaten
5 cups sliced peeled peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts.
3. Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over the peaches, and mix gently. Pour into the pie crust, and dot with butter. Cover with the other pie crust, and fold the edges under. Flute the edges to seal or press the edges with the tines of a fork dipped in egg. Brush the remaining egg over the top crust. Cut some pretty  slits in the top crust to vent steam.
4. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the vents. If the edges brown to fast, cover them with strips of aluminum foil about halfway through baking. Cool before serving. This tastes better warm than hot.

Chow,

Nancy Pearson

Nancy lives in Seacoast, New Hampshire and enjoys food, fashion and all things Mediterranean.

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