Peachy-keen

Oh how luscious the smell of a fresh peach! I love this time of the year with all the fresh Georgia Peaches appearing at the farmer's markets. Biting into a juicy, sweet peaches is one of the great pleasures of summer. During this month, a lot of the recipes that I have been demonstrating at Rolling Pin have involved peaches. Two weeks ago, we had peaches poached in wine and last Friday night, we made Peach Soup. This wonderful and oh so easy recipe is perfect for a first course or a light finish to a dinner! For this class, I decided to have it as our first course which was perfect, the title of our meal was Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. Friday evening was one of those extremely hot summer Florida nights, so a refreshing cold bowl of creamy soup was just what all the students needed! It was like starting a meal with ice cream! After the soup, we prepared Red Curry Shrimp in a pineapple half with a crisp side of broccoli avocado salad. We finished the evening off with Brownie and Fresh Fruit Trifles, yummy.

I have found that the easiest way to peel a peach is to start with fresh ripe peaches! You will need a pot of boiling water large enough to cover the peaches, and a large bowl of ice water large enough to immerse the peaches. Make a small X with a paring knife through the skin at the base of the peach and put peaches in boiling water, making sure they are entirely submerged. Blanch them for 40 seconds. If peaches are slightly under-ripe, allow them to remain in the hot water a little longer to loosen the peel, it will also improve their flavor. Use a slotted spoon to transfer peaches to ice water. Leave them to cool about 1 minute. Drain and pat dry. Peel the skin off peaches using your fingers or a paring knife. Now the peach is ready for a pie, ice cream, soup or anything else "Peachy Keen"

Creamy Peach Soup

4 medium peaches -- peeled, pitted and cut into chunks

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup low fat buttermilk or yogurt

1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

2 teaspoons orange liqueur or peach schnapps

2 tablespoons honey

Puree the peaches and wine in a blender and pour into a chilled bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Divide among six chilled soup bowls. To decorate the soup, put some yogurt in a squeeze container (I purchased mine at Wal Mart in the cake decorating section) Of course, I make a "S" not for soup but for "Saucy"!

I love my martini glass! My son, Brett gave it to me for my birthday last year!