Dahlia spoke this evening at the Second Saturday group at Amy & Karl’s. The evening is a regular monthly gathering of friends to discuss the world over a potluck dinner.

It’s July and it’s too hot to cook, which was evident in the offerings on the table this evening. Shining out among the six tomato basil fresh mozzarella salads was my contribution of minty peach salad.

I cannot take the credit for this recipe – Edie brought it home from a week of camp at the Cooking School a few years ago. When I asked her this afternoon for the recipe, she shrugged and said, “it was one of those things Martha did and I’m not sure it got written down”, so you know it’s a good one, because Martha is fabulous like that.

It’s ridiculously easy – it’s peaches, and they don’t have to be perfectly ripe, because you toss them with sugar and lemon which ends up covering up all sins. And then add mint, which takes it over the top, because that’s what mint does.

So the next time you head out to a summer potluck, resist the urge to do something with tomatoes and make this instead and everyone will rave. I guarantee that someone will grab the bowl, call it their own and carry it around, eating it with a fork as if it’s their last meal. And someone (Dahlia) will insist you go home and blog it immediately, so that the world has this recipe.  And while we’re at it, we’ll make a plug for thinking hard about messaging the federal judiciary, because all good self proclaimed liberals and moderates need to be better informed about the importance of the role of the courts in checks and balances of our government. And if you don’t believe me, then you need to listen to Dahlia and at the very least, make this peach salad.

In the running theme of if I really cared about being a serious food blogger, I’d have good pictures.  I freely admit, I spent my day piddling about the house and it wasn’t until Dahlia and others insisted I share this recipe that I snapped a shot of what was left in the bowl on my phone, because I’m not about to go and make this again just for pretty pictures for the internet. And while I’m giving credit, a very special shout out to my friend Cate, who sat here and helped me write this.

All that said, make this. Make this often. Make it a summer staple in your house, because when it’s too hot to cook and no one can face yet another tomato whatever, peaches with mint will save the day.

Federal Judiciary Minty Peach Salad

Peaches
Mint
Lemon
Sweetener

Peel and dice peaches. Toss with lemon juice – I like to use fresh, but a dash of bottled works.  Add a spoonful of sweetener – sugar works, as does a spoonful of honey.  Add a good handful of chopped mint and mix well. It can be served immediately, but if using slightly under ripe peaches, let sit for about an hour or more.