The "A Fruit For Any Time Of The Day" Story

It was an ordinary day.  The start of peach season!  My two favorite seasons are strawberry season and peach season.  During this past spring, when strawberries were plentiful, I made quite a few shortcakes which I ate with fresh strawberries for breakfast, lunch and as a snack in the evening.  This year the season was too short, since an over abundance of rain limited the season to a bit over a month and way too short for me.  Well, this morning I took a large dish and chopped up a large butter rum muffin into it and popped it in the microwave for a minute.  

Muffin broken into pieces, heated and waiting for my peach.

On top of the warm muffin I cut up a large peach, sprinkled a bit of sugar over it and poured milk on top of all of that.  Breakfast!  At lunch I had a sandwich and a bowl of vanilla ice cream with another peach on it sprinkled with a bit of sugar.  As I sit writing this story, the clock is reading 9:20 pm and I'm having another bowl of vanilla ice cream with one more peach on it.  

Great meal for anytime of the day.

Hey, it's peach season!  It doesn't last forever so you have to indulge when you can.  Now, if you don't like peaches, perhaps you've never had a fresh peach taken directly from the tree when it was just about ripe.  Peaches make a delicious and healthy snack which is low in calories, high in fiber, packed with nutrients and with a low glycemic load on top of all that. I will admit that the extra bit of sugar I apply to my peaches doesn't do me any good, but it adds just that extra-sweet touch I love with my peaches.  

Peach facts for you!
Click to enlarge.

I have been buying a half-peck of locally grown peaches for years and years from our neighborhood independent food store known as Stauffers.  The half-peck wooden bucket holds about 8-9 large freestone peaches which are not quite ripe when I first get them home.  I pop them in a brown paper grocery bag with the stem end down and just a little space between them and wait two days for them to ripen.  There are a few guidelines to follow when picking peaches.  Check out the color of the skin around the stem and make sure it isn't green.   Yellow peaches should have a golden tint while white peaches should have a creamy tint.  I prefer yellow peaches, but if none are available, I can eat the white peaches.  The peach should have a rich, peachy smell, but many times the peaches I purchase are almost ripe and have very little smell.  I usually pick one peach from the basket, place my hand around it and gently squeeze.  If it is hard as a rock, it was picked way too early.  If it's mushy put it back and try another basket.  I like the peach to have just a slight give so I know it will ripen in a few days.  I have read that a good way to remove the skin is to blanch it in boiling water for 1 minute and then plunge it in cold water.  The skin should slip off easily.  I usually just take a sharp knife and peel the skin.  Once you cut the peach, don't let it set to long before you eat it or it will start to darken in color.  I do have other fruits I enjoy besides strawberries and peaches, but they are my favorites.  I'm sure many of you have your favorites and perhaps some of you like the fruits I enjoy.  I must admit while on vacation in the Caribbean I do enjoy a mango or even a fresh pineapple.  And, they are all good for you!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.