This Week at the Market: Peaches

It’s hot here in Kansas. Okay, so that’s not so unusual. It’s always hot here in the summertime. What is unusual was the 90-degree-plus temp we reached in April. It seems as though a week hasn’t passed since when one or more days reached 90-plus degrees.

Yesterday’s Topeka farmers market was packed with people and vendors. I was thrilled to discover my favorite fruit had arrived—peaches!

Nothing tastes better than a peach so ripe the juice runs down your chin. There were varieties from Georgia available, but I went with the ones from the neighboring state of Missouri. (Also my home state.) Kansas peaches aren’t ready yet, but considering everything seems to be blooming and ripening a month early, it shouldn't be long now.

While searching for a peach recipe to post, I came to the realization that I didn’t want to do anything with these lovely, ripe globes of sweetness. Don’t get me wrong. I love peach cobbler, peach cake, and spiced peaches, but I’ll used canned for those dishes. Fresh, ripe peaches should only be washed and eaten as is, don’t you think?

Then I remembered a dish from the past I thought would work. In the mid-1980s, I worked as a nanny in Alexandria, Virginia. Nannies often find they are not only responsible for child care, but also for cooking and cleaning as well. At this particular job, I made dinner almost every night.

When it was really hot outside, my employer would ask me to make this light fruit dish. It was the perfect way to beat the summer heat, with lovely fresh fruit topped with a creamy cottage cheese mixture, crunchy toasted walnuts, and a drizzle of honey.

Since I had some organic berries left over from my previous post, I decided to dice a fresh peach into the mix. The only change I made to the original recipe was to switch out the sour cream my employer mixed into the cottage cheese with Greek-style yogurt instead. Use the recipe below as a guideline, but feel free to adjust the amounts to fit your appetite.

This dish makes a light, refreshing supper at the end of a hot, sticky day, or a fortifying breakfast to get the day started.

Fresh Fruit Supper

Serves 1

1 cup fresh fruit of choice

1/4 wedge lime
2 teaspoons honey, divided
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt
Chopped toasted walnuts, to taste

Place chopped fruit into a serving dish. Squirt the juice of the lime wedge over the fruit and mix in 1 teaspoon of honey.

In a small bowl, mix together the cottage cheese and yogurt. Spoon on top of the fruit. Sprinkle the walnuts over the top of the cottage cheese mixture, and drizzle on the remaining teaspoon of honey.