Merry Southern Hem. Christmas

In my house we have been talking a lot about normals. I use the word in a plural sense because there is no one single normal in the world. Normal is just a word that describes what you're used to. A lot of it is cultural and a lot of it is the traditions within your family.

Because my daughter is getting married soon, she has been exploring what her "normals" are versus what her fiancee's "normals" are in order to defuse conflict. A lot of blazing rows could be avoided by realizing that it's not right or wrong to have popcorn strings on the Christmas tree, it's just what you grew up with.

At a recent family party, Sarah was chatting about Christmas with the aunt from Australia who said that in her mind Christmas is a warm time and everyone goes to the beach on Christmas day. No images of snowmen, mittens, hot cocoa, and sledding associated with Christmas. Definitely no hoping for a white Christmas.

I've been thinking about this and realized that in my blog I've been neglecting my Southern Hemisphere friends. While I'm happy as a clam firing up the oven for two batches of cookies a day, it might not be that appealing in the middle of their summer. So here is a Christmas present for all of you who have balmy Christmas weather. Yes, this is a leftover from our summer, but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway. It's creamy, dreamy, bursting with fresh peach flavor, and easy, peasy to make. No custard to contend with, so less time at a hot stove!


Peach Ice Cream
adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

1-1/3 lbs (600 g) ripe peaches (about 4 large peaches)
1/2 cup (125 ml) water
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream
1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
A few drops freshly squeezed lemon juice

Peel the peaches, slice them in half, and remove the pits. Cut the peaches into chunks and cook them with the water in a medium, nonreactive saucepan over medium heat, covered, stirring once or twice, until soft and cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat, stir in the sugar, then cool to room temperature.

Puree the cooked peaches and any liquid in a blender or food processor with the sour cream, heavy cream, vanilla, and lemon juice until almost smooth but slightly chunky.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

If you like to have actual chunks of peach in your ice cream, peel an extra peach and dice it. Add this peach to the mixture after you've processed it before you put it in the refrigerator or add it in the last 5 minutes of freezing.