Gold Dust Peaches

I stopped at the Mud Creek Ranch farm stand at the Hollywood Farmers Market on Sunday to admire their selection of peaches. They had three varieties of tiny, 2-bite peaches — including donut peaches and heirloom gold dust peaches.

Thinking they were all a lovely size to serve whole for dessert, I asked the farmer what the taste difference was between them. She said the donut peaches and the other unlabeled kind were very sweet, but the gold dust peaches had the best peach flavor.

I'd eaten great donut peaches before (you can see my post here), but never tried gold dust peaches. I love new things, so I brought some home to try.

Wow, were they good. Sweet and peachy and juicy — we couldn't stop at just one each.

Eating unusual yet awesome heirloom varieties makes the effort of getting to a farmers market completely worthwhile.

Peach Ice Cream with Berries

Our blackberries and blueberries are just starting to ripen. I wanted to serve the first of the crop as dessert with our Memorial Day barbecue, but I knew it would just be a small bowlful of berries between us. A scoop of homemade peach ice cream under the berries sounded like just the ticket.

I don't like commercial peach ice cream — ersatz fruit flavor weirds me out. But the peach ice cream I make tastes of peaches and cream.

Plus, it's really simple to make. Purée peaches with a little sugar. Make a custard with eggs, milk and cream. Combine and freeze in the ice cream maker.

Yes, it's that simple to make ice cream that is better than anything you will find in the store.

And if you have fresh blackberries and blueberries to sprinkle over it, well, then you have something spectacular.

I still use the hand-cranked 1-pint ice cream
maker my mother gave me years ago.

Peach Ice Cream
1 cup milk
1 cup whipping cream
2 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar, divided use
1 lb peaches (3-4)
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp almond extract

Heat milk and cream in a heavy saucepan until steaming and small bubbles are forming around edges. In a medium bowl, combine egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and a dash of salt. Beat with handheld electric beaters until light and lemon-colored.

Very gradually, pour hot milk into eggs, in a gentle stream, beating constantly. This will temper the eggs without cooking them too quickly. Keep the beaters moving.

Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 minutes until the custard begins to thicken. Set aside to cool.

Halve the peaches and remove the pits. Put the flesh (with skin) into a food processor and finely chop. Add sugar and lemon juice and purée again.

Stir the peaches and almond extract into the cooled custard. Pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

Makes 2 pints.

Fresh homegrown blackberries. Yum.

Green Salad with Peaches and Pistachios

When we barbecue in peach season, as we did Sunday night, I like to serve this simple salad dressed with orange juice and scattered with pistachios. It makes a sweet juicy foil to whatever the grilled entrée is, and I can make it ahead and then just toss the salad with the dressing right before serving it. That's my kind of easy summer eating.

Green Salad with Peaches and Pistachios
2 tbsp pistachios
juice of 1 orange (about 1/2 cup)
juice of 1 lime (about 2 tsp)
1/2 tbsp olive oil
red butter lettuce, torn (about 4 cups)
1 ripe peach

Toast the pistachios in a small heavy skillet until fragrant and very lightly toasted. Set them aside to cool.

Pour the orange juice into the hot skillet and let it bubble down until it reduces to about a tablespoon of juice, about 10 minutes. Pour the juice into a heat-resistant bowl and set aside to cool.

Whisk the lime juice and olive oil into the cool orange juice and season with a little salt and pepper.

Just before eating, line a plate with the lettuce. Half the peach and take out the pit. Cut the flesh into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle the pistachios on top.

Either toss the dressing with the salad, or serve it on the side so everyone can add their own.

Serves 2

Sugar-Sweet Peaches

I think peaches are my favorite summer fruit. I remember in the '70s my mother buying Ontario peaches in cardboard trugs - 2 layers of luscious fruit that needed to be picked over daily to make sure none were starting to decay. The picking over included eating, of course, and there was nothing better than a sweet juicy peach with that light downy fuzz as a pick-me-up on a hot humid afternoon.

The peaches here in Southern California are twice the size of the ones I remember from my childhood (isn't everything bigger in America?) but still well-flavored and in need of daily monitoring.

This week, I noticed the peaches I was buying had freckles on them. I've been told that these brown dots are areas of concentrated sugar - sugar spots - that occur when the peach is really ripe when picked. (Most peaches are harvested underripe to give the farmer more time to get them to market. They continue to ripen after being picked.)

I snapped up a few of these freckled peaches, and they have indeed been extra delicious in our morning fruit.

Stone fruit

The plums, nectarines and peaches are just beautiful this year. I gathered a few at the market, along with some ripening avocados.

They make a beautiful still life in the kitchen.

I make sure to check through them each day for ripeness. Ripe fruit is either eaten immediately or goes in the fridge until we're ready for it.

Checking them every day ensures that I catch any softening fruit before it starts to go off.

And it gives me an opportunity to arrange a different work of art every day.

Summer fruit

We have been loving our morning fruit.

Organic melons, peaches, plums and grapes.

Is there anything more beautiful to start the day with?

Summer Fruit

 The Hollywood Farmers Market is piled with peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, pluots, grapes, melons in more varieties than I can name, and strawberries.

That's along with all the apples and citrus fruit that I now take for granted.

It's hard to limit my fruit shopping. We eat fruit once a day - for breakfast - so we don't need basketfuls. I rarely cook fruit - it's too darned hot to cook, and why waste all that nutrition? So I control myself as I walk through the market buying two of this and two of that, restraining myself to a small basket of strawberries, two - oops actually three - melons.

The stone fruits tend to be hard - flavorful but not completely ripe. I leave them on the counter for a few days until they are fragrant. I check them each every day, looking for mold, squeezing gently for ripeness. When they are really ripe, I either put them in our morning fruit, or refrigerate them until we need them.

Melons, however, can be bought completely ripe and ready to eat. Last Sunday morning we bought strawberries and cantaloupe at Finley Farms stall and ate them for brunch. They were so sweet they tasted like candy. The accompanying omelet was a good counter-balance with heat from a homegrown anaheim pepper and some salty cheese.

We had the remaining strawberries and melon for breakfast on Monday morning, Tuesday was grapefruit and last week's Santa Rosa plums - finally ripe and incredibly juicy. Then on to the nectarines and peaches, and the other cantaloupe we bought. We still have a white Japanese melon that Mr. Ha says is good to eat now but if we can wait a week or two until it is soft it will be unbelievably sweet. Let's see how long we can wait.

Summer fruit: there's nothing like it.

Eat organic

I'm fortunate to be able to eat a wide variety of organic produce. It helps to live in southern California and shop at the Hollywood Farmers' Market.

I know that not everyone is as lucky as me, so here is the annual list of foods that are safe to eat even if they are not organic.

Every year the Environmental Working Group tests US-grown food for pesticide residue. Although we don't know what long-term use of pesticides does to the human nervous and endocrine system, there are standards as to what is too much to consume.

The first list, The Dirty Dozen, refers to foods that should never be eaten unless they are organic, because the pesticide residue is too high in the conventionally-grown kinds.

The second list is of foods which have a minimal level of pesticide residue when conventionally grown.

Notice that greens must be organically-grown. Don't let that stop you from eating greens. Instead ask your produce manager or favorite organic farmer to stock organic greens. They're available, they're delicious and they're healthy. And even at $2.50 a bunch, they're a better deal than a multi-vitamin.


Dirty Dozen: eat only if organic
apples
bell peppers
blueberries
celery
cucumbers
grapes
green beans
kale / greens
lettuce
nectarines - imported
peaches
potatoes
spinach
strawberries

Low Pesticide Residue: These 15 foods are lowest in pesticide residue, and are considered safe to eat even if not organic.
asparagus
avocado
cabbage
cantaloupe
corn (probably gmo if not organic)
eggplant
grapefruit
kiwi
mangoes
mushrooms
onions
peas
pineapples
sweet potatoes
watermelon

Peach Salad

The peaches are extra good this year - so sweet and flavorful. We are enjoying them in our morning fruit, and the other day I added them to this salad.

It's a slight variation on a recipe from Jack Bishop's wonderful book A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen. He cooks vegetables with a flair, yet simply enough for everyday eating.

The dressing has a base of reduced orange juice, an excellent way to use less oil without making too tart a sauce. The sweet orange juice and peach balance well with the salty cashews.

It's a great salad to serve with a barbecue, or with a simple dinner of bread and cheese and corn on the cob.

Peach Salad
1/2 cup orange juice (from 1 orange)
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp olive oil
4 cups butter lettuce
1 ripe peach
2 tbsp roasted, salted cashews

Heat orange juice in a small heavy pan over medium heat until it's syrupy, and reduced to a couple of tablespoons, about 15 minutes. Let cool a little, then whisk in the lime juice, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Toss lettuce with some of the dressing and spread on a plate. Arrange peaches on top and sprinkle with cashews. Sprinkle remaining dressing over top and serve.

Serves 2

Reducing pesticide exposure

I make a point of eating organically-grown food because it is better for me, the farmworkers and the planet.

However, I realize not everyone is fortunate enough to have a great farmers market nearby, or a family who is willing to eat seasonally.

Since it is always better to eat non-organic produce than to avoid fruits and vegetables, I present here a list of produce which is safe to eat even if not organic.

The list is compiled by the Environmental Working Group, which tests fresh U.S.-grown produce for levels of pesticide residue.

You can find their full report here. They mention that if you choose your daily 5 servings of vegetables from the Clean Fifteen list instead of the Dirty Dozen, you will reduce your pesticide intake by 92 per cent. That's worth doing.

New on the toxic list from last year: spinach, blueberries, potatoes and collard greens. Make sure to find those in the organic section of your supermarket. Grapefruit, mushrooms and cantaloupe are new on the safe to eat even if conventionally-grown list.

Dirty Dozen - eat only if organic
apples
celery
strawberries
peaches
spinach
nectarines - imported
grapes - imported
bell peppers
potatoes
blueberries
lettuce
kale / collard greens


Clean Fifteen - safe to eat even if not organic
onions
sweet corn
pineapples
avocado
asparagus
peas
mangoes
eggplant
cantaloupe
kiwi
cabbage
watermelon
sweet potatoes
grapefruit
mushrooms

Summer Salad

One of my favorite cookbooks is A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop. He has a gentle way with vegetables, making them tasty enough for his children to enjoy, yet allowing their flavors to come through.

His peach and lettuce salad tastes of summer and is great eaten outside with a dinner cooked on the barbecue.

It's also very healthy. A reduction of fresh orange juice replaces most of the oil in the dressing and enhances the flavor of the peaches. This recipe doubles easily.

Sometimes I use pumpkin seeds, and sometimes cashews. I like them both with the peaches, but last week I opted for the buttery crunch of cashews to enhance the soft crunch of the tender lettuce from Finley Farms.

Peach and Lettuce Salad
2 tbsp cashews
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from 1 orange)
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp olive oil
4 cups lettuce, torn into bite sized pieces
1 peach, halved, pitted and diced

Put orange juice in a small saucepan and cook until syrupy and reduced to about 1 tbsp, about 10 minutes. Let cool.

Toast cashews in a dry skillet until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Whisk lime juice and olive oil into orange juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine lettuce, peaches and cashews in a salad bowl. Toss with the dressing just before serving.

Serves 3-4

Summer Peaches

A ripe peach tastes like summer.

For a few fleeting but delicious weeks I feast on peaches, nectarines and plums, and then that's it until next year.

Let me remind you that conventionally-grown peaches, nectarines and strawberries contain higher levels of pesticide residue than is considered safe, so don't eat them. (Click here for the full list of non-organic produce to avoid.)

You are more likely to find good peaches and nectarines at the farmers market than the grocery store, because they are less likely to have been chilled before you buy them. Refrigerating ripe peaches keeps them at that state of perfection for a couple of days. Refrigerating under-ripe ones gives them a dull flavor.

It is an art to serve perfectly ripe stone-fruit. And yes, you have to ripen it yourself. Even at the farmer's market, it is rare to find ripe fruit. A ripe peach bruises easily and goes off quickly, so farmers pick it almost-ripe, and leave us to finish the ripening at home. Select fruit which smells good, but is still firm. The people at the farmstand can select good ones for you.

At home I put the peaches, plums and nectarines in a shallow bowl on the kitchen counter. I inspect each piece of fruit daily. If it is soft and fragrant, I either slice it into our morning fruit or store it in a bag in the fridge. This daily check is imperative, especially in this hot weather. Once one peach goes off, it spreads quickly and you can lose them all. If a peach has a small bad spot, I chop it out and then use the good parts immediately (tasting first to make sure it's still good). A bad peach won't harm you, but why have a bad taste experience? If a peach is soft and particularly fragrant, serve it or refrigerate it.

On a recent Saturday evening I served donut peaches (pictured) from Joshua Tree along with orange almond cookies for dessert. The peaches were the hit of the evening - beautifully ripe and fragrant.

Ahhh, there's nothing like summer.

Safe Produce

Living green and eating organic is trendy, but I've been doing it for twenty years. It's the most life-supporting thing I can do (for me, the farm workers and the earth) and it's not easy. There are the logistics of buying and cooking organic produce while maintaining a busy schedule. I can do it because I've had a lot of practice, I live near the Hollywood Farmers Market, and my husband supports me in this endeavor.

For those of you with more finicky eaters in your families, here is the Environmental Working Group's 2009 Shoppers Guide to Pesticides, a concise look at the foods to avoid and those that are safe to eat. (Visit their site to download an iphone app of this list.)

They update the list annually based on mainstream agricultural practices.

Although it is always better to eat fresh fruit and vegetables rather than packaged foods, the following contain larger traces of pesticide residue than are considered safe. Avoid them in any form unless organic.

Eat only if organic:
apples
bell peppers
carrots
celery
cherries
grapes (imported)
kale
lettuce
nectarines
peaches
pears
strawberries


The following are considered by the Environmental Working Group to be safe to eat if non-organic. They have minimal to no pesticide residue. (Some of these surprise me.)

Okay to eat non-organic:
asparagus
avocados
broccoli
cabbage
eggplant
kiwi
mango
onions
papaya
pineapple
sweet corn
sweet peas
sweet potatoes
tomatoes
watermelon


(Source: Environmental Working Group)

Remember, eat food, not too much, mostly plants; and support local organic farmers whenever possible.