September always makes me a little wistful. Whether it’s because of the deep-seated childhood memories of going back to school, the fact that my birthday is mid-month or merely the seasonal change in the air, I find myself reflecting on Septembers past – and wondering what fall might bring. It’s also when I try to get my fill of my favourite farm-fresh summer produce, before it disappears for another 10 months or so.
You might expect me to be talking about tomatoes, but I’m not. Every year, in fact, I remind myself – dozens and dozens of pounds in – that it is actually possible for me to get tired of summer tomatoes. Peaches are another story.
My appreciation is so limitless, I’ve been trying to grow them at home, with mixed success thanks to ravenous squirrels. Last year, when I had a bounteous harvest, I resisted buying peaches at farmers markets – out of a sense of pride in my own – but this year, attempting to get my fill has meant returning to growers who are clearly so much better at this than I am. One of my favourite ways to use peaches, besides eating them out of hand, is to throw them into salads in place of (or in addition to) tomatoes.
A peach Caprese is a thing of beauty, and as I discovered, so is a peach panzanella, inspired by another Italian classic. The first time I tried the latter, I made a simple swap. The second time, I doubled down on the summer appeal by tossing in sweet corn kernels, too.
The third? To make it main-course worthy, I a.