Poached Peaches

After enjoying a lovely BBQ on a vey warm 35 deg Sydney evening (Really! Must we be tortured with this kind of weather in mid November?  We have like 5 months of horrible humidity to look forward to! And cocktails to enjoy!) I found myself at one of the local “all night supermarkets” buying a batch of last minute groceries. 

I figured there wouldn't be too many people  at 10.30 p.m on a Monday night.

But no! 

Being Sydney you're up for all sorts of surprises.  I kid you not.  

There was a woman wearing high heels and a bikini accompanied by a buff,  topless, gentleman in a pair of shorts, buying muesli and low fat yoghurt!  They’d obviously been at the beach for a late night swim and like myself were doing a spot of late night shopping.  (I wasn't wearing a bikini I can assure you!...moving on).

From the corner of my eye I spotted a pyramid of peaches, all neatly stacked. I think the early summer weather must have hypnotised me because all I could think of from then on was juicy, succulent and flavourful stone fruits.

I bagged a few, paid my ten bucks and off I went. (the price of convenience!).

Let's just say my over priced peaches weren't the best. I think I may have have jumped the gun, expecting them to be full of natural sweetness and highly aromatic.  They were a little too “firm” and tart for my liking.

Oh well. Not to worry.

Off to execute plan B.

Plan B was all about making the peaches slightly more edible.

As you know I love a good poached pear. I applied similar principles to the peaches however I wanted to add a little more aroma into the mix.

Oh yes! I remember I have a bottle of Middle Eastern rose water in the pantry.

Problem solved.

These turned out more than delightful. My sugar syrup wasn't too sweet either. Half a cup was perfect. I would have preferred to use the seeds scraped from a vanilla bean as well but the good vanilla extract from Costco was a great substitute.

These poached peaches are wonderful stored in the fridge and served with a dollop of yoghurt for brekky and sprinkled with some pistachios.

Or try them slightly warmed up and served as a dessert.

If you're not a fan of rose water don't use it. Perhaps you could add a little more vanilla.

Next time I'll learn to be a little more patient.