We’re still enjoying peaches, one of summer’s quintessential treats. Easily bruised, peaches are often brought to market on the hard side. Put them inside a paper bag (side by side, rather than all piled up) and give them a day or two to fully ripen. Here’s a simple way to prepare peaches, to serve with cream or ice-cream. You’ll need to peel and pit them. You’re usually told to blanch the whole peach, then skin and halve it to remove the stone. If you’ve had plenty of practice at...
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Green Briar makes a classic all-natural blueberry jam. Our recipe this week also hews to the blueberry theme.

Blueberry Balsamic Sauce

2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed, stems removed
2 tsp. butter
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbs. hot water
scant ½ cup sugar
salt
1 strip of lemon rind  (yellow part only) spiked with a clove
To thicken: 2 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1Tbs. cold water

Find a small baking that will hold the blueberries in more or less one layer. Heat oven to 350 F and warm the dish. Add butt...
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This modern adaptation of Thomas Jefferson's recipe, with interesting historical notes, can be found in Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance (Damon Lee Fowler, ed. 2005. Charlottesville, VA: Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.) In Jefferson’s day, ice cream was made in a sorbetière, and set in lidded molds. The recipe below is abridged (omitting the molding stage) with the Foundation’s permission. Pick up some fresh farm eggs, and celebrate the 4th with a scoop of snowy vanill...
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