Feeling peachy

People are already starting to talk about summer in the past tense and it makes me want to cry.

I’ve heard the hushed mention of back-to-school and thought, really?  I mean, there are still green tomatoes on the vine.  And darn it, I have not had nearly enough time in the pool.  We are just about at the halfway point of summer and already panic is setting in.  Am I taking enough picnics?  Am I eating enough tomatoes?  Am I eating enough peaches?!  While the green dampness of spring was slowly turning into the hot, dryness of summer, I thought I had eaten as many peas, as many stalks of asparagus as humanly possible, but now only halfway through summer, I regret not consuming more.

Summer certainly has snuck up on me.  I don’t know quite where I’ve been, but before I know it, it will be fall.  Catalogs, fat with fall fashion — with leather and tweed and tall boots — already cram my mailbox.  That’s it, it has been decided, while summer is still here, I will shamelessly throw myself into it.  My fingers will be constantly stained from the black-purple juice of wild blackberries, my toes will not see the inside of a shoe, my stove will most certainly go unused.  I am determined to make the most of summer.  I pledge to survive from here until the first rains come merely on juice-heavy heirloom tomatoes or more likely, the creamy, honey-scented, white-fleshed peaches I am utterly addicted to.

No way summer, I’m not letting go of you yet.

Oh peaches.  We bought our first bag of peaches a couple of weeks ago and haven’t stopped eating them since.  Those first peaches smelled like summers in North Carolina, like nostalgia and being a kid running barefoot through the high weeds of my grandma’s meadow.  They reminded me of bonfire-lit evenings, of chasing fireflies, of shortcakes and crumbles eaten at the old termite-eaten picnic table made from an entire trunk of a fallen tree.  Of cobblers topped with ice cream made from an ancient, noisy, hand-cranked machine.  They made me think of how very precious my summer memories are.

To make the most of what little time we have left, we’ve had peaches at every meal: peaches by themselves as snacks, peach-filled desserts, homemade peach ice cream, slivers of peach tossed in salads, smashed peaches in cocktails, grilled peaches with grilled meats, essence of peach syrups drizzled over everything… peaches and more peaches.

The farmers markets right now are insane with the most gorgeous peaches of every beautiful variety.  Peaches with golden yellow flesh, peaches with soft, fuzzy skin and the insides the color of hot summer sunset, a blazing orange-red that fades like a watercolor from the skin to the pit.

The most magical of these peaches have flesh that is white and creamy and when bitten into, the heavy juices run slow and shiny.  Their scent, it is simply sublime.  Their taste is so amazingly beautiful, so uncontrollably delicious, of flowers and wildflower honey.  With each bite, they erupt with the most bewitching flavors of honeysuckle and lychee fruit, of sweet white wine, so juicy one must practically be eaten over the sink.  Juice sprays everywhere; they are just as sugary and intense as a peach can be.  Their flavor more precious, as their time is most certainly fleeting.

Oh yes, we are eating our weight in peaches, but my favorites have been the wine-soaked beauties I made last week.  This might now be my favorite dessert — for this week, at least.  It is really ridiculously easy.  You just take some peaches, slice them, toss them with sugar, and then dump a bottle of dry white wine on top.  I like a Riesling, or a Gewurztraminer, or if I am feeling particularly swanky, a bottle of my go-to Frenchy summer sipper, white Lillet.  Then you put the whole concoction in the fridge for a while.  You can serve them after only a half-day or so, and they’ll taste fantastic, like a very classy, grown-up version of peaches in light syrup, but after a whole day or two, they start to go translucent, and then they’re even better: thoroughly soused, barely sweet, cool and refreshing, almost dangerously easy to eat.  A person could sprinkle a few petals of lavender on top before serving, or if you’re feeling extremely fanatical about summer’s goodness, a scattering of fresh torn basil leaves would be divine.  And, a tiny scoop of homemade sorbet floating in the sweet, peachy wine might be swoon-inducing on a sweltering Sonoma Sunday.  Before summer ends, you really should make some.  Trust me.

There are these moments when I wish I could stop time.  It goes so fast.  Too fast, doesn’t it?  I wonder, I wish, for a way to hold everything as it is now, to keep these moments safe for the times ahead, for the cold and the rain, and the unknown that surely will come.  To live in the now, to fill up my belly and my heart with the goodness of this very summer.  To create new memories.  To remember all the goodness that has been in my life, all the deliciousness.  For now, I will simply eat peaches.  It is the closest I have come.

Local spots for tasty peach-filled dishes

Glen Ellen Star

I was thrilled to hear that one of my favorite, go-to spots for homemade ice cream is currently serving a spectacular dessert to accompany it.  The chef’s own trees provide white and yellow peaches with fruit for this wood oven roasted cobbler that pairs amazingly with their vanilla maple bourbon ice cream.

the girl and the fig

A bubbling, super cute, cast iron skillet arrives at your table here smelling of the divine combination of brown sugar and bursting, sweet stone fruit that includes peaches, plums, and pluots.  This to-die-for dessert is finished with housemade lemon verbena ice cream, of course!

Cafe la Haye

A nostalgic peach crisp is the showstopper on the charming Plaza dining hotspot’s current dessert menu.  A very summery choice, especially when topped with traditional vanilla ice cream and a fresh raspberry coulis.

Fremont Diner

I adore peaches in savory situations!  At the popular roadside eatery, I recently feasted on a gorgeous salad of local greens, slices of uber sweet yellow peach, and a decadent quantity of cream-filled Burrata cheese, all tossed in a tart vinaigrette.

Peaches in white wine

These sweet, slightly boozy peaches are gorgeous simply served in a pretty glass, but are also fun served over a nice scoop of sorbet or spooned over a simple slice of pound cake. Serves six.

• 4 large peaches, preferably from the farmers market
• 1 bottle of dry white wine (I like a dry Riesling, Gewurztraminer or even white Lillet)
• 1/4 cup of sugar (or honey)
• Optional: a teaspoon of fresh lavender petals or slivers of fresh basil as garnish

Slice peaches in half, remove pit, and cut into 1/4 inch slices.  Toss peaches with sugar and add wine, tossing well.  Place bowl in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or even better, overnight.  Serve cold.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at [email protected].