Is there any eating sensation comparable to biting into a fresh, perfectly ripe peach? You have to suck as you’re biting down, to keep the delicious juice from running down your chin and making spots on your shirt. Good peaches explode with flavor in your mouth, tangy and sweet at the same time, good to the last drop. It’s one of the most sublime pleasures of summer, to have fresh peaches in abundance.

Marjorie has been packing a fresh peach in my lunchbox every day. I love the ritual of rubbing the peach fuzz off on my jeans and taking that first heavenly bite. If we have plenty of fresh peaches on hand, I cut one onto my breakfast cereal. I like to combine raisin bran with corn flakes, and the combination of tangy peach cubes with raisins and whole milk is just tremendous with my morning coffee.

We’ve been blessed with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables this summer, since we started offering fresh locally-grown Amish produce in our garden center. We get re-stocked three times each week, and when the fresh crop arrives we take whatever’s left from the last batch and put it on the “bargain table.” Needless to say, much of this “less than perfect” produce finds its way to the Boehme kitchen, at peak ripeness. Our quality of life has vastly improved as a result.

Marjorie is faced with the challenge of finding ways to fold this bumper crop of ripe fruit and veggies into our daily diet. Fresh sweet corn on the cob, if we’re lucky enough not to sell out. Red potatoes, perfect in potato salad and “dirty smashed” potatoes, not to mention delicious home fries. Mozzarella Caprese with red and yellow tomatoes, or tomato-cheese sandwiches on toasted oatmeal bread with lettuce and mayo. Can you tell I love summer?

Back to fresh peaches. Recently Marjorie unveiled a new dessert topping that I absolutely have to share with you. This concoction, over vanilla ice cream, will make your taste buds do a happy dance! Here’s how it works:

Fresh peach topping

Ingredients:

3 large ripe peaches, peeled, stone removed and cut into ½ inch cubes

¼ cup lightly packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Preparation:

Place cubed peaches into a medium sized bowl.

Add rest of ingredients to peaches and gently mix until sugars are dissolved.

Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Mix again and serve over vanilla bean ice cream.

Makes 4 to 6 servings

https://www.ripleybee.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Boehme-sig.pdf

Vanilla ice cream topped with Marjorie’s fresh peach topping is so sinfully delicious, it may be against the law. (GoodSeed Farm photo)
https://www.ripleybee.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/web1_PeachTopping.jpgVanilla ice cream topped with Marjorie’s fresh peach topping is so sinfully delicious, it may be against the law. (GoodSeed Farm photo)

Steve Boehme and his wife Marjorie own GoodSeed Nursery and Landscape, located 9736 Tri-County Highway, near Winchester. More information is available at www.goodseedfarm.com or call 937-587-7021.