Act now, limited time offer: Niagara County peaches are going fast
The peaches are ending their run in the next week or two, and really, you ought to dive in. It was $18 for a half-bushel of freestones at the North Tonawanda Farmers Market Saturday morning, and the investment in ecstasy will keep on giving for months.
Kathy is freezing bags of chopped peaches for winter use, and making jam. I made peach clafoutis, sort of a big baked pancake with fruit inside – lovely. I have my eye on a fried-peach-pie-with cinnamon recipe – we’ll see about that.
The best might be just a big bowl of sliced peaches, peeled if you want, with a spoonful of sugar – not just for sweetness, but to encourage the juice to flow and get saucy. A Niagara County peach is one of the mouthfuls that make me truly pleased to be here in Western New York, and if you let them go by without gorging yourself a few times, shame on you.
Six different varieties were available Saturday.
The muskmelons are ridiculous, too, huge flavor like fine wine – and here come the apples. I got a half-gallon of new cider, clear and crisp, each drop tasting like the first bite of the best apple you ever ate. (Kathy: “You got a half gallon?”)
I go to the North Tonawanda market because it’s the closest to me – what’s at your market?
In restaurant news of interest to me, and maybe you:
Falafel Bar’s Sheridan Drive location opened Friday (3689 Sheridan Dr., Amherst, 831-3980). It was full at 7 p.m., and running some interesting fish specials. A woman I spoke to there said shakshouka was on for the weekend.
Chang’s Garden on Maple Road, one of the better Chinese places around, was badly damaged by fire early Saturday morning. I was there Friday night with a tableful of children (coincidence! I swear!) and will look forward to their reopening.
I think you made a peach flognarde since it has to be cherry to be considered a clafoutis. Either way, they are delicious and so easy, perhaps readers might like a recipe. There’s a nice almost autumnal plum / fig version featured on apartmenttherapy kitchen today.
I highly recommend the nectarine/blackberry tart in Chez Panisse Fruit, Alice Waters’ gorgeous and informative cookbook. I’ve subbed in local peaches and blueberries, to friends’ unanimous approval.
Well, Mastering the Art of French Cooking has peach clafoutis and even apple clafoutis. If it’s good enough for Julia, heck, it’s good enough for me.
Lauren: Luci, the plum kuchen artiste, has that book. I’m so there.
Noted: I now have more reasons not to groan when married life demands that I brave weekend traffic in Amherst’s chain store district. Falafel, I’ve recently come to realize, is just too good a thing to pass by without a thought.
How nice to see another farmer’s market featured. Thanks for the lovely photos and recipes. I hope to make a clafoutis soon, thanks to your post. A+