Imagine what would happen if your Hawaiian pizza took a trip to Italy… Meet the Spicy Pancetta Grape Pizza. The sweetness of bright, juicy red grapes balance out fiery Calabrian chilies and salty pancetta in this Italian twist on Hawaiian pizza.
Anyone who grows backyard tomatoes knows that tomato season means fresh salsa, caprese salad, and BLT sandwiches all summer long. We’ve got some news for you… stone fruit is a great replacement for fresh tomatoes in many recipes! That’s right, HMC Farms peaches, plums, nectarines, and plumcots can replace tomatoes in some of your favorite dishes. We’ve assembled some of our go-to stone fruit swaps for you. Let us know your favorite ways to replace tomatoes with stone fruit in the comments!
Swap #1: Peach Salsa
Okay, peach salsa is fairly mainstream at this point, but it’s just so delicious that we had to mention it. While some people mix tomatoes and peaches to make peach salsa, we prefer to completely replace tomatoes with chopped peaches. Something about the combination of peaches and jalapeños makes this sweet and spicy medley perfect for chips, but it’s also really delicious on top of chicken, pork loin, or grilled fish. You can find our go-to peach salsa recipe here.
Swap #2: Nectarine Caprese Salad
Fresh mozzarella slices, basil, and… nectarines? Yes! If you’re looking for a fresh twist on a classic appetizer, look no further than nectarine caprese salad. The sweet-tart flavor of tree ripened nectarines, combined with buttery fresh mozzarella and basil plucked right from the garden is a flavor combo that rivals the original. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic glaze, and sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and crushed red peppers (if you like a little kick) for a treat that looks as good as it tastes. Rearrange this into little stacks on individual plates for low-contact meals, and your guests will feel extra special.
Swap # 3: Bacon Lettuce Plum Sandwiches
It may sound strange, but trust us on this one. You won’t be sorry if you ditch the tomatoes in that BLT and replace them with plums or plumcots. Crisp, savory bacon and sweet, juicy plums come together in a way that’s truly unexpected and tasty. Stack the plums, bacon, and lettuce on your favorite bread, and thank us later. Any type of plum or plumcot makes a great BLP sandwich, including Plumsicle™!
Pssst… Not a fan of pork? Turkey bacon is a great alternative, or you can swap for a plant-based bacon replacement to make this a vegetarian or vegan dish.
Grapes are a go-to choice when making a fruit salad or charcuterie board, but they are so much more versatile than that! One of the most surprising things about grapes is how great they are when roasted. This super easy recipe using HMC Farms grapes is a great way to elevate your appetizers and small plate offerings from home gatherings to catered events.
What you’ll need for about 16 pieces of crostini:
1 bunch of HMC Farms red seedless table grapes
Fresh ricotta cheese
1 medium-sized loaf of rustic bread
Fresh thyme or rosemary
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Optional: honey, balsamic glaze, or walnuts
Steps to roasted grape crostini bliss:
Start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees. Rinse the grapes and let them dry. Tip: We chose to use HMC Farms sliced grapes, but you can choose whether to slice the grapes in half or leave them whole.
Spread the grapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Top with thyme or rosemary sprigs, sprinkle with salt, and drizzle with olive oil. Toss the grapes a bit on the pan and then place in the oven for about 8 minutes, checking after 5 minutes.
Tip: It’s okay for the grapes to split or wrinkle up, but avoid letting them burn.
While the grapes are in the oven, slice the bread to desired thickness (we prefer about ½”), brush one side with olive oil, and grill in a pan or on a griddle. Brush the other side with olive oil and flip. Remove from the pan when both sides look lightly toated.
Remove grapes from the oven and set the pan out to cool.
Spread fresh ricotta on one side of each piece of toasted bread. Add 4-5 grapes to the top of each piece, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme or rosemary.
Tip: These are great just the way they are, but there are also lots of options for additions to top off the appetizer. Try drizzling a little honey, olive oil, or balsamic glaze over the top, or even adding a few chopped walnuts!
We love homemade ice cream! We actually love it so much that we occasionally make it at the HMC Farms office. Something about homemade vanilla ice cream on a hot day just makes everything better, but we like to elevate our ice cream just a bit with the topping we can’t live without: caramelized peaches.
This recipe is enough for about 14-16 bowls of ice cream.
What you’ll need:
8 large HMC Farms peaches
1 stick of unsalted butter
2/3 cup of packed light brown sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Start by slicing or chopping your HMC Farms peaches, discarding the pits. Place the peaches in a bowl and mix in the fresh lemon juice, sea salt, and cinnamon.
Melt the butter and brown sugar in a skillet on medium heat. Once the butter has melted and combined with the sugar, add the peaches and increase to medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching.
When the juice from the peaches, butter, and sugar have reduced into a thicker consistency, remove the pan from heat and let it stand a little before serving.
Tips:
Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to split this into 2 different batches, the peaches should not be more than 2 pieces deep when putting them in the pan to cook.
Warm peaches are delicious, but if they are too hot they will melt the ice cream rapidly. Let the peaches stand a bit to cool before using them as topping for your ice cream.
Peaches straight from the pan are hot! When taste testing, let the peaches cool slightly to avoid burning your mouth.
If ice cream isn’t your thing, caramelized peaches can also be added to yogurt.
Hot summer days call for frozen treats. HMC Farms peaches are in the peak of harvest in California’s Central Valley, so we try to include them in everything possible from baked goods to smoothies. One of our new favorite ways to use peaches is in peach smoothie pops, made with simple ingredients. These can be made using popsicle molds or popsicle bags.
What you’ll need for 8 pops:
4 medium HMC Farms peaches
2/3 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
Honey
3 steps to homemade peach smoothie pops:
Start by peeling the peaches and removing the pit.
Tip: Many of our HMC Farms peaches are clingstone varieties. We’ve found that the easiest way to create pretty slices of fruit is to place the fruit on a cutting board with the stem side down and slice straight down on each side around the pit.
Add peaches, yogurt, and a drizzle of honey to a blender, and puree until smooth.
Scoop pureed mix into popsicle molds or bags and put in the freezer for at least 4 hours, until frozen solid.
Peaches make a great addition to baked goods from breakfast to dessert. One of our go-to breakfast recipes at HMC Farms is for peach oat muffins. These muffins are a great way to incorporate HMC Farms peaches into your breakfast, and they’re easy to make. This recipe makes about 10 muffins, so you won’t have to recruit a soccer team to help you eat them. You may have watched Lori Taylor from The Produce Moms demonstrate our recipe on the Indy Style morning show. If not, you can watch the segment here.
What you’ll need:
2 medium HMC Farms peaches
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 large egg
1 stick unsalted butter melted and cooled
1 cup quick oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup of light brown sugar, packed (dark brown sugar will also work)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
Steps to homemade muffin deliciousness:
Preheat the oven to 400° and either line a muffin pan with paper liners, or lightly grease the muffin wells.
Chop the HMC Farms peaches into small to medium chunks. There is no need to peel the peaches unless you prefer to do so.
Tip: Chop peaches in the summer and freeze them to use in muffins during the fall and winter months.
Combine all dry ingredients except for the cinnamon and sugar in a large bowl (oats, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt).
In another bowl, beat the egg and then whisk in the Greek yogurt and butter. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until combined well.
Gently mix the chopped peaches into the dough.
Scoop batter into the muffin pan, leaving 2 wells empty. These will not rise much, so fill them up to about the size you’d like them to be once they’re baked.
Combine cinnamon and sugar, and sprinkle over the top, using as much or as little as you’d like.
Tip: for a fun twist, fill the wells halfway, add some of the cinnamon & sugar mixture, and top with more batter.
Bake for 20-26 minutes, checking every few minutes. The muffins are finished when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack until ready to serve!
Summer has arrived, and it looks like it’s going to be a hot one! There’s nothing better than sitting by the pool with a cold drink in hand on a hot summer day. Like any good farmers, we like to incorporate our HMC Farms fruit into all kinds of food and beverages. Here’s one of our summer favorites: sparkling white peach sangria.
This is an adult beverage, but a modified version could be made with sparkling water instead of the alcoholic beverages in our recipe.
What you’ll need:
3 or more HMC Farms white peaches (more fruit = more flavor!)
2 small clamshells of raspberries (or about 2 cups)
1 bottle of white wine (we used pinot grigio, but sauvignon blanc would also work)
1 bottle of Prosecco or Champagne
1 cup of peach schnapps
It’s best to start the process the day before serving, but if that ship has sailed, you can start a few hours before you plan to serve the sangria.
Begin by chopping the HMC Farms white peaches into small to medium sized chunks. Put the chopped peaches and raspberries into a pitcher, and add the white wine and peach schnapps – let this mixture sit overnight (or at least for a few hours). Add the Prosecco just before serving, and enjoy!
