Fresh Peach Recipes to Enjoy!

[Gary]

You might say I was born and grew up in the Peach Orchard. lol Spartanburg County, SC, my home, at one time, grew more peaches than the entire state of Georgia. My grandparents really did live in the middle of a very large Peach Orchard where they farmed. Of course Grandma and Mama were busy the whole summer drying and canning peaches -- cold pack peaches are a beutiful site to behold! Peach Preserves, Jellies, and Pickled Peaches were stored away for the long winter months. Grandma's Apple and Peach Turnovers made with the dried fruit were super!

Perhaps these recipes using fresh peaches will bring back good memories of yesteryear with family, friends and places remembered.
Gary/Louisville


Fresh Peach Salsa

4 firm ripened medium to large peaches, peeled,
seeds removed, coarsely chopped or thinly sliced and each slice cut in half, and immediately sprinkled with lemon or lime juice to prevent discoloration
2 whole cloves (optional)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped sweet red pepper, or 1/4 cup each coarsely chopped sweet red and yellow peppers
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely snipped fresh cilantro leaves or 1 teaspoon dried cilantro (optional)
2 Tablespoons cider vinegar, or 1 Tablespoon each cider and balsamic vinegar's
1 teaspoon minced fresh green chiles, or several drops hot pepper sauce to taste
1/4 to 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion (include some green tops)
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients, except onions, mixing well. Cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator to allow flavors to blend and develop. Add green onion and remove cloves just before serving. Store left-over salsa in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Makes about 4 cups
Other suggestions -- Use 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar in place of granulated sugar, if desired.


Sweet and Spicy Peach Salsa
This versatile sweet and spicy salsa recipe with peaches makes a perfect dip for salty chips or topping for a juicy steak or hamburger.

4 or 5 medium to large ripened peaches, peeled
3 tomatoes, quartered
2 tspn jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 tblspn cilantro, chopped
4 tspn rice wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in blender or food processor and blend until completely mixed and coarsely chopped. Remove from blender and serve at room temperature.
Other suggestions:
Brie cheese makes a delicious and elegant appetizer when topped with this salsa. Spoon salsa over brie wedges; spread onto water crackers.
If you are one of those people who like catsup on their franks--top it off with a little of this salsa.

Fresh Peach Sour Cream Pie
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
5 to 6 medium peeled fresh peach halves
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour and sour cream, blending well. Arrange the peach slices, cut side down, in the pie shell. Pour the cream mixture over the peaches. Bake at 450°F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325°F, and bake 25 to 30 minutes more. Cool before serving.

Warm Peach Desert
Warm peaches topped with vanilla wafer crumbs, and baked in dreamy sugar and cinnamon mixture. This is a quick and easy dessert.
4 or 5 medium to large ripened peaches
10 vanilla wafers crushed with one tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of butter
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Preheat oven to Broil
Place peaches hollow side up in container. In a medium bowl, mix together crushed vanilla wafers, brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon until crumbly. Sprinkle over peaches.
Place under broiler, and cook until sugar is melted and bubbly one or two minutes
Enjoy as is or serve with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.

[johno]

Yummy! Peaches are almost impossible to grow here, I'm jealous.

[SunflowerMeg]

Yum. I live near the Asheville Farmer's Market and have been seeing the trucks on the highway bringing the peaches in. I stopped by and picked up a basket...wish I would have picked up several baskets...we're already down to our last bag of frozen peaches. Just plain good.

Gary, are the recipes off the internet or are they your recipes? You got any to share from great-granny? :)

[Gary]

The last twenty five years I had responsibility for Food Service in a residentail facility with three locations here in Kentucky. I had other responsibilities as well. I did meal planning and training of staff and at times was cook and dishwasher as well. I attended many training sessions, conferences and on two separate occassions attended Cooking School at the Greenbrier Hotel in White Sulphur Springs, WV. The Greenbrier is one of the top ten hotels in the world. It was an amazing experience.
I keep in my files many recipes I have used for meals and or special occassion over the years. I have over five hundred cookbooks in my library and a large number bought recipes on disks. I am always looking for new recipes which attract my attention.
Perhaps some of the following recipes will interest you.
Enjoy!
Gary/Louisville

Like Grandma used to make
Even a liberal seasoning of nostalgia can't improve these culinary memories.
By Louise Kennedy
At this time of year, deep in soup season, I find myself thinking often of my grandmother's turkey soup. And when I do, I remember how awful it was. Here's the recipe: Take one turkey carcass, stripped of every last trace of edible meat. Put it in a huge pot with a limp carrot and a brownish stalk of celery. Add too much salt and twice as much water as any sensible person would use. Boil long enough to make the house smell good, but not long enough to infuse the water with any discernible taste of turkey. Ladle the brackish, faintly poultry-scented broth into bowls and serve. For years, I was baffled when people extolled the wonders of homemade soup. How could anyone actually enjoy this tasteless bowl of nothing? Finally, I attempted my own turkey soup, and I was amazed to realize what I'd been missing. Who knew soup had flavor? I don't mean to dishonor my grandmother's memory with this story. She was a fascinating and beloved woman with a wicked sense of humor, a gift for vivid and extravagant conversation, an inimitable way with hats, and many other wonderful qualities. But a talent for cooking, despite her own faith in her powers, was not among them. This was partly the fault of her times, not herself. I mean, who even wants to make salmon mousse anymore? But I imagine that those few who do would take the little round bones out of the canned salmon before they stirred in the mayonnaise. As for me, the memory of the slithery mousse and crunching bones is enough to send me screaming at the very sight of a fish-shaped mold. And let's not even discuss one of her favorite dinner dishes: boiled tongue. She did do some things well. Her homemade mayonnaise, for example, was impeccable, and the deviled eggs she used it in were better than any others I've ever had. I'm still addicted to her recipe for party mix (you know, with the Wheat Chex), even though I now know that the secret ingredient is lots and lots of bacon grease. But then I think of her picnic sandwiches: the standard peanut butter, but with butter on the bread, too. I know I am remembering all of this with a child's squeamishness, and that is no doubt making things seem worse than they were. But even from an adult's more detached perspective, I find myself fascinated by what my grandmother cooked, and by what she thought she was up to. This is a woman, after all, who grew up like everyone else in her social class, with servants doing the cooking. But then, also like just about everyone else, she had to learn to do it herself. And, more than most, she threw herself into the task. She clipped recipes. She bought books. She subscribed to Gourmet. And then she made some really unappealing food. What interests me about all this, I think, is that it goes against a fundamentally American idea. We believe in the power of positive thinking; we're convinced that, if you just work hard enough and want something badly enough, anything is possible. But I think my grandmother really wanted to cook well, and I think she really worked hard at it, and yet a lot of what came out of her kitchen was simply not food. What also interests me is how nervous it makes me to say such a thing. We're all supposed to remember our grandmothers' cooking with great fondness, and to insist that nothing tastes as good now as it did in the olden days. The saccharine nostalgia that pervades our culture - thank you, Walt Disney - pushes us constantly toward an artificial reconstruction of the past. All grandmothers wore aprons; all of them cooked; all of them cooked well. Somehow it feels important to insist that that's not true. I'm sorry, but my grandmother's soup was just plain bad. But I do wish she were here to show me how to wear a really big hat. Boston Globe Magazine


Beef Goulash Soup
As a child with a Hungarian grandmother, writer Lois Wyse writes that she knew how goulash was supposed to taste, but as an adult she never tasted goulash like her grandmother's until she went to Budapest, and a friend gave her this recipe.
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds of boneless beef chuck, trimmed, cut into
1-inch cubes
4 medium onions, chopped
4 gloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sweet
Hungarian paprika
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 14-ounce can crushed
tomatoes
4 cups beef stock, preferably homemade
1/4 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Chopped parsley, for garnish
In large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil, and brown beef over high heat. Remove meat with slotted spoon and set aside.
Reduce heat to medium. Heat remaining oil. Add onions and garlic, and sauté until golden. Stir in flour and paprika, and cook 2 minutes. Pour in vinegar and tomatoes, and stir vigorously for about 1 minute while mixture thickens.
Add stock (we used 3 cups of Kitchen Basics Beef Stock), 4 cups water, marjoram, salt, pepper and meat. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in potatoes and simmer 30 minutes.
Adjust seasoning and add additional water or stock if the soup has become too thick. (Ours had plenty of liquid, even though we used 1 cup less stock).
Serve soup hot with a sprinkle of chopped fresh parsley.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
"Just Like Grandma Used to Make: More than 170 Heirloom Recipes" by Lois Wyse with Lisa Antelo and Sherri Pincus

Banana nut bread -- almost like Grandma used to make
By BETTY ROSBOTTOM -- Betty is a creative cook and author of several excellent cookbooks. She resides in Columbus, OH
Sunday, April 14, 2002
One of my earliest childhood memories is of my grandmother's delicious banana nut bread, which she brought with her when she visited. At home, our family enjoyed the bread for breakfast or as a mid-afternoon snack or to end our evening meals. The loaves held up well under refrigeration, so we savored them long after my grandmother had returned to Mississippi. Unfortunately, the recipe for MaMa's banana bread was never written.
For several weeks this winter, I decided to try to re-create this delectable banana bread. I searched in old community cookbooks as well as in new ones. After a week of baking, I was convinced that the version that follows is almost identical to the original, which was extremely moist and full of nuts. I spread the loaf with a creamy caramel glaze. If you really want to indulge, serve a slice of this banana bread with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle both with some warm caramel sauce.
Caramel-glazed Banana Nut Loaf
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons ( 3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus extra for greasing pan
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 very ripe medium bananas, peeled and mashed well to make 1 1/4 cups
3/4 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
Caramel sauce (see recipe), cooled to room temperature
Arrange rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
Into mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
With electric mixer on medium speed, cream butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add sugar and beat until sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Lower speed and add dry ingredients. When blended, add eggs and bananas and beat just a few seconds to incorporate. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan and spread top evenly with rubber spatula. Bake in preheated oven until tester comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. When done, let cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes.
Using icing spatula or table knife, spread enough of cooled caramel sauce over top of loaf to coat evenly. Heat any extra sauce just to warm and serve drizzled over slices of banana loaf. (Loaf can be placed in airtight container and refrigerated up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Makes 1 loaf.
Caramel sauce:
2 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup light cream or whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, broken into chunks
Mix cream cheese and cream in small bowl until smooth. Set aside. Place sugar and water in heavy, medium saucepan over low heat, swirling pan occasionally until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil until syrup turns a rich brown color. Remove pan from heat. Stir in cream cheese mixture -- it will bubble vigorously. Whisk in butter. Use warm as a sauce or let cool to room temperature and use as a glaze or icing. (Caramel sauce can be made 5 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat, stirring over low heat, when using as a sauce.) Makes 3/4 cup.

PART ONE

[Gary]

Continued Part Two

Just Like Grandma Use To Make
Several recipes for your consideration.
http://florencescookbook.blogspot.com/


Homemade Dessert Recipes From Grandma's Country Kitchen
Check the left hand listing of recipes
http://www.homemade-dessert-recipes.com/


Gramma B’s Recipes
Just Like Grandma Use to Make and sometime still does.
http://www.grammabsrecipes.com/


Recipe Source
SOAR: The Searchable Online Archive of Recipes
and your source for recipes on the Internet.
This is one of the most comprehensive sources for all recipes you can find on the Internet.
This Link will take you to 3,105 recipes for SOUPS. For other recipes type in the Search
For them.
Enjoy and Happy Eating!
Gary/Louisville


Recipe Source
http://www.recipesource.com/soups/soups/indexall.html



Sauces for Fish, Meat & Vegetables
An excellent source for making sauces to compliment your meal.
State of Superior Cuisine
http://www.kenanderson.net/up/html/sauces.html

[GrowTheSeeds]

Gary thanks for these :cool:

Beef Goulash Soup sounds good - now if Baker Creek can get some paprika seeds to sell :)
I mean get some of Redbrick's Paprika :D

[Gary]

Ginger Peach Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup plain yogurt
2 Tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger
1 cup fresh peaches, peeled and finely chopped (nectarine can be substituted)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In another bowl, combine egg, yogurt, and butter, then add ginger, peaches, and pecans. Fold egg mixture into flour mixture. Fill greased muffin tins 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake in a 400-degree oven for 25 minutes.


Peach and Berry Salad

Ingredients
3 peaches
2 pint blackberries
1 pint strawberries, hulled, sliced
1 tsp. ground cardamom
Directions Bring medium pot of water to boil.Add peaches and blanch 30 seconds. Drain.Transfer to medium boil, cover with cold water and cool. Drain.Peel peaches and slice. Place in medium bowl. Add all remaining ingredients and mix to blend.Can be prepared 1 hour ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature. Fresh Fruit is the best to use.

Peach Shake
2 cups frozen peaches, partially thawed1/2 cup cold milkPlace peaches in blender and add milk. Blend until thick and smooth. Serve. If peaches are completely thawed, add vanilla ice cream instead of milk.

Peach and Yogurt Smoothie

4 peeled and quartered peaches
8 oz vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 rounded tbsp brown sugar
dash ground nutmeg
Mix in blender while adding ice cubes, one at a time until thick and smooth. Serves 4.

Peach Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups very ripe, mashed peaches
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tbsp butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup raisins, or nuts
In a bowl, mix flour, sugars, salt, and baking soda. Drain mashed peaches; put in large bowl. Add beaten egg, melted butter or margarine. Stir in raisins or nuts. Stir in flour mixture. Pour into 9x5 greased and floured loaf pan. Let stand 20 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Cool bread in pan 15 minutes; remove from pan and finish cooling on wire rack. Freezes well.

PEACHES SUPREME

2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. apricot preserves
1 (8 oz) can pineapple tidbits in their own juice, drained
2 large peaches or nectarines, halved, pitted
1 Tbsp chopped pecans
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
In a small bowl, combine cream cheese and apricot preserves; blend well. Stir in pineapple.
Slice a small portion from the base of each peach half so that the fruit sits flat; reserve peach slices. Arrange peach halves on serving plates. Spoon 1/4 of pineapple mixture into each peach half; sprinkle with pecans. Garnish each with reserved peach slices and mint leaves. Serves 4

Homemade Peach
Lemonade

If you are looking for a cool beverage to serve at a teen party or for dinner tonight, try this recipe.

2 peaches peeled and cubed
4 C water
1 C sugar
3/4 C Fresh Lemon Juice
Bring the peaches, sugar, and water to a boil and simmer until the sugar is dissolved, about 10 minutes. Allow the mixture tocool, then strain through a sieve, pressing to extract as much juice as possible. Stir in lemon juice, and serve in tall glasses over ice. Serves 4

Buttermilk Peach Ice Cream
1 quart (4 cups) fresh peaches
2 ½ cups sugar
1 quart sweet milk
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 pint whipping cream

Mix all ingredients together and put in ice cream freezer, then freeze.


Peaches & Cream French Toast

This is a wonderful French Toast that receives raves each time it is served. The taste is unbeatable and unbelievably delicious.
Use heavy textured bread for best results.
Ingredients:
2 15 oz. Cans Sliced Peaches - Drain liquid and puree in blender. Note: Use 6 - 8 fresh peaches in season. Peel and slice and then puree in blender.
1 Tsp. Cinnamon
1 Tsp. Nutmeg
8 Eggs
3 Tbls. B&B (or up to 1/2 Cup, depending upon preference) - optional
1 Cup Half and Half
Blend all ingredients in a blender.
Use a large cookie sheet. Place the blended sauce on the bottom of the cookie sheet. Coat the bread slices on both sides with the mixture. Place the bread slices on the cookie sheet and cover the entire cookie sheet with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Heat your pancake grill to 350 degrees. Rub the surface lightly with oil. Cook the French Toast on each side for 5 to 6 minutes. Alternate sides of the toast every two minutes to keep it from browning too much.
Makes 8 to 10 delicious servings.
Serve with warm Maple Syrup and garnish with fresh peach slices.

Baked Peach French Toast

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup butter
4 T. Butterscotch or Peach Schnapps
1 – 29 oz. can sliced peaches or substitute with equal amount of fresh peaches.
15 eggs
4 1/2 cups milk
2 T. vanilla
1 loaf French bread (cubed)

Spray large glass baking dish with cooking spray. Drain peaches and reserve syrup. Heat brown sugar and butter on medium low heat until melted. Add Schnapps and continue cooking until sauce becomes thick and foamy. Pour into baking dish and cool 10 minutes.

Place drained peaches on cooled caramel sauce and cover with cubes of bread. Beat eggs, milk and vanilla and pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Cover with foil the last 30 minutes to keep from over browning. Test with knife at end to be sure it’s baked all the way through.

Serve with warmed peach or maple syrup.

[Nutter]

Wow.. good stuff.. Peaches have just come in from our Niagra Falls region.. I'll give a few of these a try..

Thanks

[mrtomatoexpres]

the recipes sound yummy i feel i gained 10 lbs :)

[MichiganderGardener]

Gary ,
Thank you for the recipe's. I also collect and read cookbook's. Sound's like you have a great collection!
Cant wait to try the french toast and peach salsa recipe. Yummy!

[chubbyduckie]

I'm really hungry after reading the recipes, lol. Thanks Gary, for posting them for us. I can't wait for some fresh peaches now.

[bluelacedredhead]

Here's one that I just found while searching for a recipe for Peach Loaf. Cuz the grocery store was out of the one they had advertised and now I've got peach loaf on the brain. But the good news is they had baskets of peaches on sale, so where there's a Will....

Don't know if I'll make this one though. But very interesting combination of fruits and veggies in these loaves. And the preserving technique?? Well, you decide..

BREAD - IN - A - JAR

2/3 c. shortening
2 2/3 c. sugar
4 eggs
2 c. canned pumpkin
2/3 c. water
3 1/3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. nuts
2 tsp. baking powder
2 c. apples or carrots, shredded
1 3/4 c. applesauce plus 1/4 c. pineapple
1 can whole cranberry sauce
2 c. mashed bananas
2 c. fresh peaches
2 c. zucchini, shredded

Cream shortening and sugar together. Beat in eggs, pumpkin and water. Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and spices. Add to pumpkin mixture. Stir in nuts. Pour mixture into greased side-mouth canning jars, filling half full. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. When done, remove one jar at a time, wipe sealing edge with paper towel or cloth and screw cap on tightly. The heat will vacuum seal the jar and the bread will keep for up to one year. Makes 8 pints.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out her site though. It has some excellent recipes.

http://www.anniesrecipes.com

[Mary]

Gary, you are making me hungry for peaches,wow,all these sound so good,I'll have to go find some and try these recipes.Thank you ! :) ;)

[johno]

Who needs recipes? FRESH peaches can't be beat! I'm eating one right now.

[johno]

I have to buy my peaches. I had two peach trees - one died this year. The dead one made a good peach once. The lone survivor made a bunch of skin covered peach pits once.

[josasjam]

HI, YOU TAKE A CHANCE OF HAVING THAT PROBLEM IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE PEACH TREE. PEACH TREES HAVE TO CROSS POLLENATE. I'M NEW AND JUST REGISTERED. I POSTED WHAT I DO WITH MY PEACH PITS IF YOUR WOULD LIKE TO READ IT. THE PEOPLE I HAVE GIVEN TREES TO OVER THE YEARS HAVE HAD GOOD LUCK AND THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING SPECIAL TO THEM. TRY AGAIN IT WILL BE WORTH IT.

[johno]

I just found that a few minutes ago... Thanks again!

[April]

Josasjam,

Please take off your capslock. No need to yell.

[Mary]

Hi Gary, I made the banana nut bread you posted and I want to thank you,it is very good. I didn't get a chance to make the carmel glaze,my daughter was here and had two pieces and I had one so far,so good I could sit down and eat the whole thing,don't really need the carmel glaze. Years ago I had a good recipe and lost it,so glad to have yours.Still haven't tried the other recipes but will I'm sure.

[Joan]

Gary please come cook for me!!!!
Thanks for the great recipe sources. On the peach lemonade, we had a similar recipe and while the sugar water was warm we threw in a sprig of fresh basil, what a lift it gave the drink. Try it sometime.

[sparrowgrass]

This isn't really a recipe, but it does taste good. Take 4 or 5 of your very best peaches, peel and slice. Add some sugar--maybe just a tablespoon or two, more if you have a sweet tooth. Also add just 2 or 3 drips of vanilla.

Put the peaches in the freezer. When they are frozen, drop them into the food processor and buzz til smooth.

Eat with a spoon and a smile.

[josasjam]

Gezzzzzzzzzzz!! Sorry if I was yelling. I won't yell anymore. Smile........

[josasjam]

I make this peach cobbler recipe all the time. It's so easy to make and is really delicious.

5-6 cups of peaches
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine
2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
Place peaches in a greased 9X13 pan. Mix all other ingredients together and pour over the peaches. Then, mix together:
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tab. cornstarch
1 1/2 scant cups of boiling water
Pour over batter and bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Everytime I serve or, make this to sell it's gone before you know it.

[stonysoil]

wow it does bring back nostalgic memoreis.. i gradauated college in georgia.. and once worked in madisi=on ga in peach grove the p[eaches were as large as grapefruits but the ripe ones were never shipped.. i lived on th efresh peaches and havent eaten may since as they just dont compare to fresh ones.. unfortunatley i live in zone 4 upstate central ny so i cannot grow them here

[Gary]

Peach French Ice Cream (From NY Times)
When ice cream is flavored with fruit, the fruit is often simply added raw. That works well enough, but because there is so much water in the fruit, the pieces of peach will tend to turn quite hard as the water turns to ice. To make an ice cream with a smoother consistency throughout, we’ve chosen to roast peaches in a bit of sugar, removing their water and softening them before adding them to the mixture. Save a peach to slice for a garnish when you serve the ice cream. A sprig of mint is a colorful addition, too.

Peach Ice Cream
Makes about 1 1/2 quarts
3 ripe peaches
1 peach, for sliced garnish (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water
Vanilla pod saved from the strained custard
1 1/2 quarts crème anglaise (see recipe)
Mint sprigs for garnish (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Split the peaches in half, remove and reserve the pits.
3. Add the sugar and water to a medium-size roasting pan and stir.
4. Add the peach halves, turning them to coat thoroughly. Add the pits to the pan. Add the reserved vanilla pod.
5. Place in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes depending on how ripe the peaches are. They are done when they are very soft. Remove the vanilla pod and pits.
6. With a fork, pull the skin off the peach halves. Add the peaches to a mixing bowl, along with the caramelized solution in the roasting pan.
7. With a fork, mash the peaches until quite pulpy but not a puree.
8. Add the peach mixture to the chilled crème anglaise and pour it into your ice-cream maker; follow the instructions that come with your appliance.
To serve: After the the ice cream has frozen, serve three small scoops of it in a soup bowl. If you like, garnish with peach slices and mint. Or drizzle the ice cream with caramel or chocolate sauce.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crème Anglaise

Makes 1 1/2 quarts
2 cups cream
2 cups milk
8 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scraped or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1. Place the milk, cream and seeds of the vanilla bean along with the pod in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer (not a full boil), remove it from the heat and allow it to cool for about a minute.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar. Whisk until the mixture seems very pale.
3. Pour the hot milk mixture into the mixing bowl in stages, stirring to blend thoroughly. Return the liquid to the saucepan.
4. At medium heat or lower, stir continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula, using a figure-eight motion. Pay special attention to the bottom of the pan to prevent coagulation. To test for doneness, coat the spatula with the mixture and run your finger down the back; it should part cleanly. This happens at about 175 or 180 degrees. In other words the custard is now hot but safely away from the boiling point at 212 degrees, which would destroy the consistency.
5. Strain the custard (a professional chinois -- the classic china-cap strainer -- is excellent for this chore; otherwise use a standard, fine kitchen strainer) into a bowl that has been set in a larger bowl of ice. Save the vanilla pods. Stir the custard until it is no longer steaming. (Chill over ice or place it in the refrigerater if you are continuing the recipe to make ice cream.)

[Joan]

Went out in the country today and came home with a big basket of peaches! Some to freeze and some to scarf down in fattening deserts!