When life gives you peaches…
You make lemonade!
If you’ve read my very first Thanks to Evelyn blog post, you know about my new found affection for Georgia peaches. Last year I had 25 lbs of peaches that I needed to use, and as you can imagine I made quite a few peach recipes. Most of these recipes were found in The Peach Truck cookbook. Of course, I do love to cook, so this was not a chore like it may have been for some. Here in MA, last summer was a rainy one. I was itching for something to do, and boy did I have lots to do with 25 lbs of peaches on hand. Every morning I would get up and press ever so gently on the peaches to see how many were just the right amount of ripe for the day’s menu and the planning would begin. Some days it was like a race to use them up before they crossed that very thin line.
This one July morning, a good friend was coming by with his partner in crime to install a trellis aside my back door. It was extremely hot out, as it always seems to be when I am having anything done in my yard. Deep into Peach Palooza at this point, I had slipped right into the southern hospitality mindset and I wanted to have something to offer the guys on this sweltering day. I flipped through my Peach Truck cookbook and stumbled upon what became one of my very favorite peach recipes of the season; Minty Peach Lemondade.
This lemonade was the perfect combination of sweet & tart, and the addition of mint took it to a new level of refreshing. Though this is something you need to plan ahead to enjoy, requiring some stovetop prep work and cooling time, it is more than worth the effort and wait.
Minty Peach Lemonade
4 medium peaches:
3 chopped (about 3 cups),
1 sliced, for garnish
¾ cup sugar
2 to 4 mint sprigs, plus more for garnish
1 cup fresh lemon juice
Ice, for serving
Serves 6
Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Total time: 3 hours 45 minutes
1. Combine the chopped peaches, sugar, mint sprigs, and 4
cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium.
high heat; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for }
minutes. Let cool for 30 minutes. Remove and discard the mint
sprigs.
2. Transfer the peach mixture into a blender and blend until
smooth. Refrigerate for 3 hours or up to overnight.
3. Strain the peach mixture through a fine-mesh sieve; discard
the solids. Stir in the lemon juice.
Serve the lemonade over ice, garnished with the peach slices
and additional mint sprigs.
As absolutely amazing as this lemonade is, I decided it to kick it up a notch and add alcohol. If you know me at all, you know when it comes to spirits, hands down I choose tequila. And if you’re a really good friend, you know I choose Casamigos blanco tequila. Most often I will be heard ordering a Casamigos shaken, served up in a martini glass with a twist of lime. I prefer my cocktails without much added sweetness. As I tell the bartenders, “I want to taste the tequila.” But this lemonade was truly perfect as a cocktail. Of course, you could add vodka or whatever your favorite may be. I’ve decided this summer, I’m going to add bourbon for a spin on a Mint Julep!
