Just peachy

I love peaches. They are one of my favorite summer fruits. Especially really fresh, sweet, juicy local peaches.

Now that I live in the South, I am much closer to "peach country." This weekend, I decided that it would be fun to visit a peach orchard and pick my own peaches off the vine. Although trekking to Georgia to get the full "Georgia Peach" experience wasn't really an option, I figured that finding an orchard in south central Tennessee was my next best option.

Hence, this Saturday, my friend Manda and I found a delightful pick-your-own-peach orchard just an hour south of Nashville. Manda is a native Southerner, hailing from Alabama. So she was able to add to the authenticity of the experience, along with sharing tidbits with me about peach preservation and peach recipes from her 'Southern Living' magazine.

The afternoon was just lovely. The weather, although quite hot, was sunny, blue-skies, and there was a nice breeze in the air.

I never realized peach trees were so pretty! I had just trying to capture the scene on my camera, although my cheap-o camera does not begin to do it justice!

After we arrived at the orchard, Manda and I strolled through the orchard with the provided wooden baskets and joyously plucked the peaches off the branches. We harvested two different varieties - Red Fury, a tarter, large peach, and the Contender, a sweet, smaller peach.

I think I gathered about 20 peaches or so. Some ripe, some still a bit hard so I can space out the use.

After we finished with our harvest, we sat out at one of the picnic tables, took in the beautiful rolling hills of the Tennessee countryside, and each enjoyed one of the warm, sweet juicy peaches. There is nothing like fresh fruit, sun-warmed and straight off the vine!

Now I get to experiment with ways to use the peaches. Yesterday I made a "Peach Crumble" which I took in to work with me and seemed to be a big success. I am excited to find creative ways to use the peaches, and perhaps even preserve some so that I can enjoy their deliciousness in the coming months.

Hope you enjoy some of the photos of my little orchard trip!

~ Yum! ~

The single person splurge

There is a fine line in the life of a single person between indulgence and frugality, frivolty and penny-pinching. I, myself, feel like I am often teetering on that line, usually leaning further towards the former rather than the latter. Today when I was grocery shopping in Trader Joes, I found a great saute mix of pre-cut peppers, onions, carrots, and seasonings for a swell price. This was a perfect buy for the single person, I thought, because it was just the right portion size, for a few meals so I could eat it before it went bad.

Then I passed the steak. "Hmm," I began to think. "These steak tips would be great with the saute vegetables." I thought. But when I discovered that the price was $8.50 or more, depending on the package, I had second thoughts. I rarely buy steak for myself, because it just isn't practical. But with the beautiful 70 degree, sunny weather outside, it just put me in the perfect mood for a steak saute.

I went back and forth in my mind, trying to figure out if I could justify buying the steak or not. I reckoned that it would probably last at least 3 meals for me, which wouldn't be that bad of a deal. Suddenly I just had this conviction (or my stomach did?) that I should buy the steak. Not just because I wanted to eat the steak, but I felt like it would be important as a single person to create a delicious, enjoyable meal in my own kitchen every once in awhile that was a special treat. Perhaps I am overly trying to justify myself, but I think there is something to the act of treating yourself every once in awhile for the sake of festivity (in this case, Easter festivity) and to enjoy God's culinary bounty. It affirms God's gifts, and it affirms the fact that you are worth buying a special treat to delight in every so often. It's all about storing up simple joys, such as taking the time to buy, prepare, and enjoy a more indulgent meal.

I made my steak saute for dinner tonight. It was delicious -- a real treat and a great way to end a beautiful late spring day!

Soups: A perfect winter meal for the single girl

flickr/ by suavehouse113

Anyone else who is single knows how difficult and often unmotivating it can be to cook for yourself. I love cooking but it's hard to find recipes that feature a variety of ingredients that I won't get tired of before the dish goes bad. I discovered last winter how perfect soups are for the single person. First of all, you can find soup recipes for every taste -- vegetable-based, meat-based, poultry-based, with a Mexican flair, Indian flair, you name it! Recipes usually call for a variety of ingredients, but often inexpensive ingredients.

Plus, you get the whole warm, cozy experience of preparing the ingredients, melding them together in one pot, and smelling the spicy steam waft through your house for a good hour or more. Making soup is just a comforting experience that is bound to warm your home and your heart on a cold winter day.

The best part is that by making a big pot of soup, you have your lunches for the week! Make it once, and simply bring small containers to work each day to heat in the microwave and you are set! I really enjoy soup in the wintertime, so this is one meal that I don't seem to get tired of eating, especially if I rotate recipes.

Here is one of my all time favorite soup recipes. It's simple, very inexpensive, healthy and SO delicious: Persian Lentil Soup.

Bon Appetit!