It’s back-to-school week around here, and I think it is for some of you too. Except for me, today is just another Monday, and I confess, I miss going back to school.
Not graduate school. Oh hell no. Graduate school was all about the dissertation; it was about producing something. I miss going back to school for the sheer joy of learning. I miss feeling like something amazing was going to happen during the semester, a sort of magic carpet ride of ideas and wisdom flying below, above, and all around me. I miss college, especially the courses I took for pleasure—Spanish, Russian history, a class on mysticism and ecstasy (which, during graduate school interviews, got me the side eye from the professor who would become my PhD advisor. Ah, memories…).
At this point in my life, if I had the luxury of taking a college class or two, I’d take some courses on feminism. It’s an area of knowledge that feels like a big gaping hole in my life. I’ll even up the ante: should I be lucky enough to teach a small-group seminar later in my career, I’d love to team-teach a class on the biology and politics of sexuality. I can claim some street credit in the biology domain, since my research focuses on female mating behavior, and I’d love to recruit a partner in crime to teach the politics and to teach me a thing or two in the process.
I’m wishing out loud tonight, but a blog seems like a good place for that sort of thing. With school starting and autumn just around the corner, I’m also wishing that the new season would swoop in and save us from August. But then again, there’s summer’s last hurrah, best demonstrated in produce form, such as green peaches and ricotta piled clumpily onto a piece of bread.
I told my friend Ammie about this recipe and declared it a “green peach emergency.” Emergency may have been a strong word, but I do think we should be eating all the peaches we can get our hands on before they disappear for good this year. This simple but sassy little number comes from Melissa Clark, who envisioned it but left us with just a vision and no recipe. Well, friends, I was intrigued by that vision of green peaches tossed with brown sugar and vinegar, then paired with some creamy cheese and tasty bread. In a word, this is fabulous. Easy but somehow decadent, you get sweet and tart, salty and peppery, delicate and chewy. Yum.
Happy back to school to all my teacher and student readers! Someday I will join your ranks again. For now, you can find me lunching on bread and peaches, in between experiments and analyzing data.
Green Peach and Ricotta Crostini
Inspired by Melissa Clark and her book In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite
Serves 2-3 generously
2 large green peaches, chopped (about 1 pound)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. rice vinegar
3-4 slices of good bakery bread, such as ciabatta
Good ricotta cheese (or I bet a vegan cashew cheese would be yummy here too)
Freshly ground black pepper
3-4 slices of good bakery bread, such as ciabatta
1) Mix the peaches, salt, sugar, and vinegar together. Set aside
2) Lightly toast the bread. Then dollop on your creamy cheese, grind over some black pepper, and top with the peach mixture. Eat. Repeat often.
No comments:
Post a Comment