Southern Summer Peaches

    This week found me standing over the sink; a box of peaches to clean. While not a favorite thing to do, southern summer peaches are absolutely delicious and well worth the work (not to mention, my husband is a big fan). Southern peaches and I have a history together. Unlike most of my memories, this one isn't from the prairie.

     My father's parents started in Indianan but spent a time on the prairie- where my parents met. Their journey brought them further south to the state of Texas which is where I remember them from. Distance and differences kept us from knowing each other as well, but when my father brought the family south we spent Friday evenings at their home where hand made pizza and Monopoly rivalry began.
      It was on those weekend evenings that southern peaches were introduced to me, for my grandparents had a love for them. Every summer eager anticipation came as farm peach trucks from just north of us were found along roadsides selling boxes of juicy southern peaches. Standing over boiling pots and large bowls, we dipped the peaches in hot water to soften the skins before peeling and slicing them. The end treat for all this hard work was a batch of fresh home made ice cream containing bits of tasty peach. How did she do it? Simply adding a package of peach gelatin and some chopped peaches to a basic vanilla ice cream recipe. How easy is that?
    
      While I have made peach ice cream a few times over the years, my family isn't much of a fan. They prefer vanilla with their peaches on top, or their ice cream on top of peach cobbler. No matter how long it has been or how far I get, the sight of southern peach farm trucks always sends me back to steamy kitchens, the chatter of cousins, and the sweet satisfaction of a heaping bowl of home made peach ice cream.