Peaches la-roooo and some kale too!

My dad had nicknames for all us kids.
Mine was Peaches La-roo.
And because all little girls love their daddies, so began my love affair with peaches.  It continues. Clearly I could have/should have skipped the entire Peach Schnapps phase of my life, but it was short lived, innocuous, and I was YOUNG!  (And oh, I am aware that Peaches La -roo sounds only 1/2 a step removed from the stripper pole, but let's not go there.)

Anyhow, PEACHES are all over the markets now.  They are abundant and therefore (says my economics degree), cheap.  So I've been thinking -- and playing with ---what to make with all these glorious peaches?  Here's my take on a Bon Appetit recipe using peaches not plums. I tried it both ways, and I like mine, with the peaches better.  You can decide for yourself.  Plum-La roo just doesn't have the same melodious ring to it.  Enjoy.

If you're anything like me.  You're cooking on your grille all summer.
Q. Who wants to heat up the entire house.  A. Nobody!  
Here is what you need.


Once you've got everything, go light your grille.

• Big head of kale (with stalks) This costs about $1.50 at my market
• 4-6 peaches (mine are currently .99c a pound)  so yeah, really cheap too.
• Ricotta cheese - you won't be using a ton of this, like a 1/4 per person.  I bought the part skim kind in the grocery store. You know - the stuff you use for lasagna.
• Honey
• Cider Vinegar - or another kind of bright vinegar, just not the white kind.  That should be reserved for cleaning your counter tops or something.  Don't cook with that stuff! 
• Cracked pepper/ salt / some olive oil

Separate the long stalks of kale, (wash if you think needed, but I'm lazy here, I truly believe it's ok to eat a little dirt) and put into a big bowl.  Pour a good glug of olive oil on top of the kale and use your grilling tongs to kind of toss the kale all around so it's coated a bit in oil.  It's not WET here, just a little oil so it won't fry too quickly on the grille.

Then slice the peaches.  Do this whichever way works for you, there are NO RULES.  Put both peaches and kale on the hot grille.

The kale will start to brown up quickly.  It will need to be turned before the peaches.  The leaves should get a little charred looking.  That's fine.  It tastes delightful.  The peaches will take a little longer but will develop nice grille marks.  (see them here)

I usually have to remove the kale first or put it on the top rack for a minute until the peaches finish and look like this.  Here are both items just off the heat, already looking good right?

So now you need to make the vinaigrette.  Please don't freak out about this.  It takes one minute and is really easy.  And once you start making your own dressings it will be difficult to eat the bottled stuff from the supermarket.


Anyhow, to make the dressing you just need three ingredients.  Some honey, cider vinegar, and a bit of olive oil.  I make it in a little cereal bowl.  Just mix a nice big tablespoon of honey (enough to cover the bottom of the bowl) with a little vinegar (enough to cover the honey) and about half that quantity of olive oil. Stir it together like crazy and TASTE!  Does it taste good?  Is it to honey-ey?  Is it too vinegary?  Add more of what you need and voila - you're done!


Now take the kale and the peaches and put them in a big bowl, toss with the vinaigrette.  Plate this dish by putting scoop of ricotta cheese on the plate, (maybe about a 1/4 cup) then some kale, then some peaches, and lastly some crushed black pepper.  In the end it should look something like this.

My vote,  it's DELICIOUS.  And as a bonus -- it's super healthy.  And as if that weren't enough, the food cost of this guy is about a dollar for a giant serving.


I think a nice toasted nut would be good on here.  But I didn't want to complicate things too much.
Let me know what you think Montanans.  Be well.