A Whole Lotta Fuzz

Remember these?

I thought it was about time that I showed you some of the ways we enjoyed these delicious treats... other than just a quick rinse and sinking your teeth into the peach, plain and simple. Sometimes that just can't be beat...

But when you're looking for a little more... here are some of our favorites that I'd suggest...

Sliced Peaches and Grilled Chicken Balsamic Salad
*the homemade balsamic dressing with this salad is out of this world, really... it works well on just about any romaine (or even spinach) salad you can imagine; one of our other favorite side salads includes candied walnuts, crumbled bleu cheese and slices of pears with the balsamic

Marinate your chicken breasts in your choice of Italian dressing for at least one hour refrigerated or 30 minutes at room temperature.

Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 TBSP sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 TBSP balsamic vinegar
1 tsp finely minced onions
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 cup olive oil

Combine dry mustard, seasoned salt, and pepper in small bowl. Stir in vinegar, sugar, onions, and garlic. Let stand at least 1 hour. Just before serving, pour through a strainer into a small bowl to remove garlic. Beat in olive oil with wire whisk.

*I often make a double recipe of the dressing and refrigerate the remainder; just be sure to pull out your dressing at least 30 minutes before serving and mix well to reincorporate the olive oil.

2 chicken breasts, marinated, grilled, and sliced on an angle
Balsamic Vinaigrette
1 1/2 hearts of Romaine lettuce
1 1/2 green onions, sliced on the bias
1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1 firm ripe peach, sliced

Put all ingredients, except for chicken slices and Balsamic Vinaigrette, together in a large salad bowl and toss gently. Add dressing and toss so salad is evenly covered. Top with slices of grilled chicken.

As for the tasty-looking cake below, I turned to an experiment in Peach Pound Cake. You'll probably have the same reaction my sister-in-law had when I told her what it was... "huh, peach pound cake??" but this was pretty good stuff. I thought this was delicious as an indulgent morning treat... though admittedly, I had to give the rest away quickly so I didn't turn into one big peach, myself.

Peach Pound Cake

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (165 degrees C). Spray an 8x4 loaf pan with cooking spray and coat with white sugar.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Reserve 1/8 cup flour for later; sift together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Use the reserved flour to coat the chopped peaches, then fold the floured peaches into the batter. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

*BONUS: another highly recommended use of fresh peaches

We have loved being creative with our delicious and beautiful fruit... I never realized that peaches were so versatile but we certainly enjoyed finding that out!!