Peach and Arugula Caprese

This is one of my favorite dishes to make in the summertime.  I got the idea from a magazine years ago - THANKS MAGAZINE!  Sliced peaches, sliced buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, good olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Yesterday I used arugula because I didn't have basil, and the peppery leaf was a great companion to the creamy cheese and sweet peach.  Perfect side dish or light lunch.

Hope you're enjoying Peach Week - 2 more days left!    

Peach Brown Butter Shortbread

Many of you have requested a crumble for Peach Week, but I wanted to try something a little different. This shortbread with brown butter, sliced peaches and a crumble on top is delicious.  The perfect light dessert or accompaniment to coffee in the morning.  Because shortbread is like breakfast, right?  In Scotland maybe?  I'll wear a kilt if I can eat this for breakfast.  

Recipe HERE.  I used four peaches vs. two but mine are on the smaller side.    

Peach Butter

Well hello millions of peaches!  I traded in my zucchini the size of a wiener dog for two boxes of freshly grown peaches.  Again, these came straight from our friend Linda's garden.  I've never been to their home, but I imagine it to be a magical place where friendly birds turn into cartoon characters, singing you songs while feeding you berries.  I bet that's what it's like there.

Welcome to Peach Week.  

I decided to make peach butter first because it called for 4 pounds of peaches and I wanted to make a dent in my stash before I became overwhelmed.  I found this recipe and it's delightful.  Just the right amount of sweet with no added spices - simply peaches, lemon juice and sugar.  They call it "butter" because it's a cross between a jam and a sauce (and mine is much more like the latter).  I can't wait to pour it over ice cream, stir it into drinks, drizzle it over pancakes and smother it over toast and scones all, summer, long.  

Four pounds is roughly equivalent to 40 smaller-sized peaches, FYI.  That's a lot of peaches to peel, pit and chop.  However, the method of boiling them for 30 seconds and letting them cool in cold water before removing the skin worked beautifully...  

Simmering peaches...

I used my immersion blender to puree it until it reached a silky smooth, butter-like texture... 

Thickening "butter"...

Gifts!