Forlorn! the very word is like a bell

To toll me back from thee to my sole self!

Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well

As she is famed to do, deceiving elf.

Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades

Past the near meadows, over the still stream,

Up the hill-side…

– John Keats, “Ode to a Nightingale”

Time has a funny way of disappearing on you; one minute it’s there and the next, poof, it’s gone! Even as I write this post, the sad truth is that yours truly is already living her life in the fall 2010 semester (yep, it officially started on Thursday). This past week I went and, like a good, yet somewhat absentminded instructor, bought the novels that I had somehow forgotten to place an order for back in April (I blame the PhD exams; it’s a very convenient excuse for most mistakes made in the April-May period), I got my new “class pass” (i.e. my free ride on the city buses I wait obscene amounts of time for), and also had a hallway run-in with my dissertation chair (as no draft has been demanded or even hinted at thus far, life continues to be good), who seemed to be in fine spirits. And, ironically enough, the Bay Area weather, true to form, is finally delivering the lovely weather and sunshine I’ve been craving all summer…and just in time for my loss of freedom; really, you’ve got to love Mother Nature’s sense of humor!

Despite the looming return to the classroom, which I must admit I’m actually quite excited about (my syllabus is awesome and I’m looking forward to finally teaching Sologub), life has been both good and fairly carefree lately. 🙂 On Friday, a good friend and colleague decided to throw a party in honor of the beginning of the semester. Naturally, I took advantage of this opportunity to prepare one of the gazillion recipes I’ve been dying to try and made the Grilled Peach Salsa that has been on the back burner since mid-June when I stumbled upon an issue of Taste of the South magazine in a southwestern PA Giant Eagle. 🙂 One reason I decided to go this route is that, whenever I make something sweet, this particular friend, who doesn’t really care for sweets (yes, you did read that correctly), will ask for a tiny piece and then say, “Oh, that’s good”, with a look on his face that says he’s being 50% genuine and 50% placating/indulgent. So as to avoid the latter 50% =P, I figured it was best to go with all fresh food and natural sugars (and, yes, it was good).

The happy times didn’t end on Friday either; yesterday, I went with a cute Greek scientist to the Street-Food Fair in the Mission, which had many tasty morsels to offer, in addition to good music and big crowds (even though I hate crowds, to be fair, I must acknowledge that San Francisco does take its food seriously). I ate an amazing plate of Pork Sausage with a Butter bean salad at the Flour and Water booth, had a Japanese rice cake (onigiri) at the cleverly titled booth Onigilly (I would happily go back there for more; not only was the rice cake delicious, but I got to use the old rusty Japanese with the vendors) and had some pretty divine lemon cookie ice cream at the Three Twins booth. Considering the weather was lovely, we did a lot of walking and I recently discovered some new modes on my still fairly newish camera, I took plenty of pictures. It’s always been my belief that it’s polite to share. 🙂

But enough about my adventures; I owe you a recipe and one that you should capitalize on as soon as possible…After all, we’re still in the heart of peach season.

Grilled Peach Salsa

slightly adapted from Taste of the South magazine

Yields 6-8 servings

***If you have a grill, great! If not, however, use your oven’s broiler instead. The results will basically be the same.

7-8 fresh peaches, peeled (remember that the best way to do this is to blanch the peaches; the skin will then come right off), cut in half and pits removed

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1/4 cup diced onion

3 Tbsps. minced fresh jalapeño

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 Tbsps. fresh lime juice

-Preheat grill to medium-high heat, or, if you, like me, are grill-less, turn the broiler on!

-Grill/broil peaches over direct heat for 5 minutes per side.

-When cool enough to handle, chop peaches into small pieces.

-In a large bowl, combine peaches, cilantro, onion, jalapeño, garlic and lime juice.

-Place in the refrigerator or serve immediately.