Peaches, Mangoes, and Berries, Oh My!

Oh Summer, how I love thee. Thy bountiful harvests overload my refrigerator with delicious fruit.

Ok, enough of the old English, but the sentiment is the same. Summer has the best fruit. I was addicted to mangos for quite a while and ate two or three a day. At first I had to learn how to cut them because the pit is just about impossible to get out. You basically have to cut the meat away from the pit as closely as you can. Kind of like a peach. Here's a web page with step by step instructions. Mangoes are a great addition to fruit salad, smoothies and salsa. Next time I grill a steak, Bobby Flay has an amazing Mango Chimichurri salsa I can't wait to try.

Another great summer fruit is peaches. There aren't many things better than sinking your teeth into a sweet, juicy, perfectly ripe peach. I learned recently that freestone peaches are the ones that separate easily from the stone in the middle. They can be a little more expensive, but they do make eating easier. White peaches are known to be sweeter, but they are also more delicate than yellow peaches and are also typically pricier than the yellow peach. I saw this Grilled Peach Salad and have put it on my to-do list. However, my favorite way to eat peaches is in Peach Crisp. Throw a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and that, to me, epitomizes summer.

Peach Crisp

6 small-medium peaches, sliced
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup butter, softened
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 375. Spread peaches evenly in 8x8 pan. In medium bowl combine remaining ingredients until well mixed. Sprinkle over peaches. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve over ice cream.

The great thing about this recipe is there is almost no such thing as too many peaches. For a great fall or winter treat, or if peaches are too darned expensive, granny smith apples are a great substitute.

And last, but not least, the strawberry. Living in the strawberry capital of the world has spoiled me with fresh, local, sweet strawberries nearly year round. Right now you can buy three overflowing pints at the San Luis Obispo farmer's market for $4. It is a little ludicrous. Aaron eats them on his cereal in the morning, but I just eat them straight out of the container on the way home. I like it when you can still taste the day's sunshine on them. I don't really have a recipe for strawberries because they are basically perfect for eating all by themselves. I do enjoy them in a nice crepe with some bitter chocolate sauce, mmmm.

I would be interested in hearing some strawberry and other summer fruit recipes. We might as well eat them as much as possible in as many ways as possible before summer ends!