Summertime

Summer is not my favourite time of year. Heat and I do not good partners make. I am lethargic and depressed in summer, like I have a reverse kind of SAD. Today was the first stinking hot day of the season - the kind where it feels as though the flesh is melting off your body. Summer isn't all bad. Christmas time is fun, I enjoy the preparations and the gathering and the eating and drinking. On the downside is the New Year fuss. I never find it enjoyable unless I have someone to kiss at midnight. I tried to cheer myself up yesterday, I bought myself a box of chocolates and a bunch of flowers (imagining a boyfriend, do you think?) but those kind of things are only temporary salves.

The very best thing about the summer though is the fruit. Peaches have only just come into season and they're not exactly cheap yet but I couldn't resist some lovely rosy-yellow ones yesterday and this is what I did with them. I was just planning to poach them with vanilla but I had a jar of chai style spices I'd mixed up in winter to make spiced hot chocolate and I correctly figured they'd taste mighty fine in this concoction.

Chai-Spiced Poached Peaches

2 cups water
2/3 cup sugar
1 vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped into the mix
1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods
5 cloves
small slice of ginger
five black peppercorns
1-2 star anise

6 peaches, halved and stoned

combine everything, bring to gentle simmer, poach ten minutes until fruit is tender.

serve with marscapone sweetened with icing sugar