CHUTNEY: MEMORIES OF FRESH PEACHES

Some of the best things in life are unexpected, undeserved and unexplained. A peach tree appeared in our back yard about four years ago. At first we weren't certain it was a peach, although childhood memories pretty much ID'd the unique shape of the leaves. Three years ago it sprouted some very peach-like blossoms, two years ago it had about a dozen peaches, and last summer we had a bumper crop of small but extremely delicious free peaches!

We ate peaches three meals a day, gave away peaches and froze peaches. Then I thought of chutney. If you've never had Indian food, chutney is a condiment served along side curries to enhance them and abate the fire. It also is an excellent side dish for meat, turning a not-so-spectacular chop into something to write home about. Mangoes are the most familiar base for chutney, but even in California mangoes are not free. What follows is a very good, quite cheap variation. You can go to the trouble of canning this, but while it will never quite freeze solid due to the sugar content, it will keep for months in the freezer parcelled out in ziplock baggies.

PEACH CHUTNEY

2 cloves of garlic

2 1/2 cups chopped apple (peeled if skins are tough)

1 cup chopped onion

2 1/2 cups peeled, chopped peaches

1 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cloves

Chop all the fruit into approximately 1/2" chunks ( it will all cook down, so precision doesn't count for very much here, except for the apricots which tend to keep their shape). Put everything in a large pot, bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve warm or chill or freeze. Makes about 5 1/2 cups chutney.

If you wish to can the finished product, process in 1/2 pint jars in a boiling water bath for 30 minutes.