Good morning. There’s a road near where I stay that’s lined with orchards, and when the peaches get ripe there I like to drive it with the windows open. The smell of the fruit softens my mood. It’s the scent of sunshine.
That won’t be for weeks yet, though, maybe a month. In the meantime, I’ll be looking to Georgia, where the crop’s bouncing back from a disastrous, frost-ruined 2023 season. A dozen ripe Georgia peaches in a paper sack? I can put my head in there and have almost the same reaction that I get in the car with the local fruit: a kind of stunned happiness.
There’s so much to do with them. Put one in the sun for an hour then eat it out of your hand, the warm juices running down your chin. Slice another into a bowl to eat with cold yogurt. Cut one more for lunch: a tomato and peach salad with whipped goat cheese.
And then, of course, you should make a perfect peach pie (above). It’s just the thing to fill a Sunday afternoon with joy, and you can let it rest on the counter while you make a simple dinner to serve ahead of it. I’m thinking of crispy chicken thighs and a sweet-corn salad, but it doesn’t matter. Today, the pie’s the thing.
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Perfect Peach Pie
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As for the rest of the week. …
Monday
Naz Deravian’s recipe for lemon spaghetti with roasted artichokes is a silky weeknight delight that makes the most of the jarred artichoke hearts you really ought to have in your pantry at all times. (Buy two jars today if you have none — as with sheet pans, you really can’t have too many on hand.)
Tuesday
I love a tuna salad generally, but Eric Kim’s pepperoncini tuna salad turns every dial in the recipe to 11, elevating it to royalty. Sour, salty pickled peppers, sweet relish, toasted sesame oil and plenty of mayonnaise combine to dress the fish in studded velvet, while slivered celery provides just a bit of crunch. Eric serves it on sliced croissants. Approved!
Wednesday
This simple recipe for tomatoes vinaigrette, developed by Cybelle Tondu, makes the most of early-season tomatoes. It’s dead simple: You sprinkle some kosher salt on a plate, top with tomato slices, sprinkle with a little more salt and then drizzle the whole dish with a garlicky mix of oil and vinegar. Would I add some sliced mozzarella and torn basil and call it dinner? On a Wednesday night, I would.
Thursday
You really cannot do better with soba noodles than Hetty Lui McKinnon’s recipe for a cold noodle salad with spicy peanut sauce. Cucumbers, peanuts, bell pepper and tons of radish add crunch, while scallions, cilantro and lime juice offset the heat of the sauce.
Friday
Finally, to welcome the weekend, sear a skirt steak in a hot skillet so you can slice it for taco fillings, to serve with shredded cabbage, crema and Naz’s new recipe for mango salsa: light, simple and extremely well balanced.
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Now, it’s nothing to do with Jarlsberg or icy martinis, but the media critic Rusty Foster has started his through-hike of the Appalachian Trail with his son Mica, documenting the journey in a newsletter called Today on Trail. Follow along.