A bounty of peaches sits on the counter of Duluth cook and author Beatrice Ojakangas. (Beatrice Ojakangas / For the News Tribune)

My grandfather, who spoke only Finnish, thought that Beatrice was a funny name for a baby. “Peetsis?” He said, “that’s a fruit” and from that day on, I was known as “Peachie” or “Peaches.” It was so much easier for the Finns to pronounce — a sort of “Finnglish” name. Later, I had a French friend who insisted on calling me “Peche” — the word for peach in French. But the Finnish word for peach is “persikka,” closer to the most botanical label for this delicious fruit, which is “prunus persica.” At one time, it was believed that the fruit was native to Persia, hence the name. The Finns, it turns out, were closer to accurate that I thought!

A couple of months ago, a friend asked me if I would like to put my name on the list for a lug of peaches. They were being sold as a fundraiser by the Skyline Rotary. The reviews I had were that the peaches are just delicious.

So here, in our tiny apartment kitchen, I have a lug of 36 ripe peaches ready for consumption. And they are delicious. The peaches were a little firm, so I put them into a brown paper bag for a couple days.

Here’s what I plan to do with them:

My first option is to eat the juicy fruit out of hand. Since they contain less than 70 calories each, they make a great snack just like that. Since I have several friends with extra peaches on their hands, here are some of my favorite recipes. We start with the simplest recipe — one of my favorites.

Slow Baked Peaches

This is a perfect simple dessert if you are planning for a crowd.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Coat a casserole dish with cooking spray or brush with melted butter.

Rinse the peaches and place one peach per serving into the casserole in a single layer. Into a 9x13-inch pan (like a cake pan), you can put about 12 whole peaches with the skins and pits intact.

Sprinkle with sugar (about 1 tablespoon per peach).

Cover tightly (you can use foil) and bake for 1½ hours until the peaches are soft and wrinkled.

Cool completely and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. Delicious with heavy cream poured over, vanilla flavored nonfat yogurt or ice cream.

Peaches and Cream Casserole

Here’s another simple dessert with just a tad more to do.

4 large peaches, peeled, pitted and diced

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup cream or undiluted evaporated milk

1½ cups old fashioned rolled oats

¼ cup light or dark brown sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Distribute the peaches in the pan in an even layer. Mix the eggs, vanilla and cream in a small bowl and pour over the peaches. Mix the rolled oats and brown sugar together and sprinkle over all. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the oats are browned and the peaches bubble up around the edges of the pan. Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 4 servings.

 

 

Fresh Peach Cream Pie

This open-faced pie is one of my favorites and so easy to do, as the crust is an easy press-in pastry.

Pastry shell:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 tablespoons milk or water

Peach filling:

4 cups peeled, pitted, sliced fresh peaches (about 3 large)*

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

⅔ cup whipping cream

 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir the flour, sugar and salt together and add the butter, oil and milk or water. Mix until crumbly. Press into a 9-inch pie pan.

Combine the peaches, sugar, flour, salt and nutmeg until the peaches are evenly coated. Turn into the pastry shell and pour the cream over. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the fruit is bubbly and the pastry is lightly browned. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

*To easily peel peaches, just drop them into a pot of boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the water and slip off the thin skin.

 

 

 

Peach Jam

If you still have more fresh peaches, you are lucky! Then you can “put summer in a jar” and make this jam. You don’t need pectin for this recipe. You will need five or six 8-ounce canning jars.

6 cups peeled, pitted and chopped fresh peaches (about 4 pounds)

3 cups granulated sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ cup water

 

1. Before you begin, put the canning jars, lids and rings into a large pot, cover with hot water and heat to simmering.

2. In another large pot, combine the peaches, sugar, lemon juice and water. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, until peaches are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Mash using a potato masher or an immersion blender. Then return to the heat and simmer 10 minutes more until thick and jammy. Spoon into the hot jars to about ¼-inch of the top. Wipe rims with a damp cloth. Top with lids and rings.

3. Return filled jars to the boiling water pot and process for 10 minutes. Lift jars out onto a folded towel to cool. Jars should seal (you’ll hear it when they seal). Press the top of each lid with a finger to ensure that the seal is tight. Enjoy!

For spicy peach jam: Add ½ teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground allspice to the peach mixture in the second step.

For vanilla essence: Add one vanilla bean to the peach mixture in the second step.

 

 

Grilled Peaches and Pork Chops

I had the butcher cut the pork into 1½ to 2-inch thick chops (2 ribs each). They cooked to tender juiciness in 20 to 25 minutes over a medium-high heat on the grill. Because there are just two of us, I cooked one chop.

 

2 fresh peaches, halved

Olive oil or melted butter

2 cloves garlic, peeled, mashed

1 to 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 double-boned thick pork chop, about ¾ of a pound

 

Heat the grill to medium-high heat. Cut the peaches in halves and remove the pits.

Brush the peaches with oil or melted butter and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Do the same for the pork chop.

Place peaches cut side down on the grill along with the chop. Grill the peaches for 5 minutes, turn over, remove and keep warm. Grill the chops, turning occasionally to cook on all sides including the edges until browned and cooked through, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board or plate and let pork rest about 10 minutes. Carve the bones from the pork and slice; serve with the grilled peaches. Makes 2 servings.

Beatrice Ojakangas is a Duluth food writer and author of 31 cookbooks.

 

Beatrice Ojakangas (News Tribune photo)