It’s always something. Too dry, too wet, too cold, too hot. Or for the tomatoes this year a nasty blight.
But I am in bliss. Peach bliss that is. After last year’s late spring freeze we had a severe peach shortage. I did not have a single native peach. But what I lacked then, I am making up for now. Since the peaches started showing up at the farm stands I have been having them almost every day.
They are sweet and juicy, with the very important, good texture. Nobody likes a mealy peach.
I hearby deem this a good year for peaches.
I just have been eating them as is, but I plan to make a few of my favorite peachy things in the very near future.
Simple peaches and vanilla ice cream. I peel the peaches by blanching them in boiling water for a few moments. The peel should slip right off. Then thinly slice them off the pit. Add a dash of sugar.
I also prepare the peaches this way for peach shortcake. (It’s always good to add a squeeze of lemon juice or a pinch of ascorbic acid to keep them from browning.)
Grilled peaches are great as a side for chicken or pork.
Sometimes, if I have a craving for a sweet snack, I will cut a peach in half and sprinkle brown sugar on the flesh side of the peach and put it under the broiler until the brown sugar bubbles.
A workmate mentioned a peach caprese salad, like a tomato, mozzarella, basil caprese. Just sub in peaches for the tomatoes. I like that idea, and I will have to try it.
And the classics, peach pie, peach crisp or cobbler.
The peach possibilities are unlimited, so get your peach on. The season isn’t long, and you never know what next year will bring. Carpe Diem or Carpe Peachem!
— LUCY
I am not, I repeat “not,” going to cite T.S. Eliot. I’ve already done that at least three times in this column when you start going on about your beloved peaches.
But I am going to seque (pronounced “segway”) to having just received in the mail the final copy of Lucky Peach magazine. I subscribed to this ground-breaking magazine from the get-go. So now I have 24 issues in pristine condition. I’m going to miss the vulgarity, the crazy design sense, the on-the-edge writing, the occasional recipe you’d only find in Lucky Peach.
And maybe David Chang will someday tell the real story of how it all went so wrong for a magazine that went so right for all 24 issues.
Rest in peace, Lucky Peach.
— LOU