Just Peachy!

If you love local food and buying farm-fresh produce, meat and cheese, you know where to go every Saturday - the local Farmers' Market. This past Saturday was no exception and there was so much to choose from.

Fresh melons, garlic, potatoes, bacon, cookies all beckoned me but this week, the peaches looked so tasty and I knew they would be finished soon so I picked up a few thinking I would make a pie or maybe some jam.  I was also out of honey for my tea so picked some up at Armstrong Apiaries.

Then I headed straight to Bella Stella Cheese. The last couple of times Igor has been sold out of yogurt and ricotta by the time I got there – and I wasn’t going home empty handed this week! Thankfully, he still had both – what a treat to be able to buy yogurt made right here with no additives and milk from local dairy cows.

So what to make with peaches, ricotta and yogurt? I like fresh peaches cut into my yogurt but though maybe I should try something new.

So what did I make that turned out to be pretty tasty? A quick and easy recipe to fill my craving for something sweet (but healthy!) and 2 treats to help beat the heat during that heatwave we had.  And good thing I picked up the honey – turned out two recipes called for honey!

Grilled Peaches and Ricotta

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

4 peaches, halved and pits removed

1/4 c. honey

1 c. ricotta

Cracked black pepper

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high. Spread the butter over each of the peach halves.  Grill the peaches, flat sides down, until warmed through, about 4 minutes. Serve the peach halves with generous spoonfuls of the ricotta in the centers drizzled with the honey and sprinkled with cracked black pepper. How easy was that!

Peach Frozen Yogurt

4 c. peeled, sliced fresh peaches, frozen solid
3 tbsp. honey (or more to taste)
1/2 c. plain yogurt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Add the frozen peaches, honey, yogurt and lemon juice to the bowl of a food processor. Process until creamy (about 5 minutes). Serve the frozen yogurt immediately or transfer it to an airtight container and store it in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Frozen Yogurt Peach Popsicles

3 c. ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, and roughly chopped

1 tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 c. milk (cow, coconut, almond – whatever you have in the fridge)

1/2 c. plain yogurt

1 tbsp. honey

1/4 tsp vanilla, optional

Reserve 1/4 c. of the peaches. Place remaining peaches, lemon juice, milk, yogurt and honey (vanilla if you are using it) into a food processor or blender and puree until smooth. Return the reserved peach bits to the puree and mix in evenly with a spoon. Pour mixture into popsicle molds leaving 1/2 inch at the top of the mold. Cover and add popsicle sticks. Place in freezer and freeze for at least 4 hours to overnight. To remove from molds just run warm water from the tap over the outside until they come loose.

Enjoy!