“Fresh Fruit Week” – Day 1

I have a peach tree in my backyard and boy do I love it! So much so, that I’ll be using the ripe juicy peaches and other fresh summer fruits in every recipe for the rest of the week. I really have no choice. The season is fast and furious and it’s a “use it or lose it” situation.

The peach tree I have now is a sweet little dwarf tree.

But back when we bought the house in 1999, I planted a full-size peach tree, and was that ever a mistake!

By May 2003, the tree got so big and produced so much fruit that I could not keep up.

The previous three photos were taken at a “Peach Pickin’ Dinner” where I begged my friends to come over and help me pick and eat peaches. We picked enough peaches to cover the entire kitchen island, and those were just the ones that were ripe that night!

By 2005, the tree could not keep up either.

It produced so many peaches that the limbs broke under the weight of the fruit.

A couple of years later, we remodeled the entire backyard, so the damaged and the sad big peach tree was out and the dwarf peach was in.

The dwarf is in the same place and it must be the perfect local for such a tree because it produces like crazy too.

Thankfully, not a kitchen island full of peaches, but a cutting board full every few days of the short season. Much more manageable!

Blacked Salmon with Summer Fruit Salsa

Fruit Salsa

• 1 red or white onion, peeled and diced
• 2 red, orange, and/or yellow bell peppers; cored, seeded, and diced
• 2 ripe peaches, pitted and diced
• 2 ripe mangoes, flesh diced
• 1 cup strawberries, hulled and diced
• 1 cup diced grape tomatoes
• Zest and juice of 2 limes
• 2 ripe avocados, pitted and flesh diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Salmon

• 3-pound salmon fillet
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 1½ teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon each; onion salt, oregano, ground cumin, chili powder, salt, and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon each; thyme and cayenne

Salsa: In a large bowl, combine all the salsa ingredients, except avocado and salt; cover and refrigerate.

Just before serving, stir in the avocado and salt.

Salmon: Place a large piece of foil on grill grates and preheat the grill to medium-high.

Cut off the tail-end and any thin sides from the salmon fillet and reserve for another use.

Cut the remaining salmon fillet evenly into six or seven 5-ounce to 6-ounce pieces.

Place the butter and olive oil in a bowl and melt in the microwave.

Add the garlic and all the spices to the bowl.

Brush the mixture onto both sides of the salmon pieces.

Place the salmon on the foil and close the grill lid. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on the first side, depending on how thick the fillets are.

Carefully turn the fish over and reduce the heat to medium.

Close the grill lid and finish cooking for another 3 minutes or so, depending on the thickness of the fish. Salmon should be barely opaque and will start to flake along the center of the fillet when done.

Serve hot off the grill with the salsa spooned over the top or on the side. (We enjoyed a beautiful Caprese salad on the side featuring heirloom tomatoes that were generously and thoughtfully given to us by Larry & Sheila Trauscht, who are clients of Dave’s.)

Serves 6 to 8