The ingredients to the ice cream I just made, as they would appear on the side of the package: peaches, heavy cream, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, salt. I can't bring myself to buy vanilla beans, especially if vanilla isn't the primary flavor. Here, the flavor's peach, all the way through. It's a recipe I cut out of a New York Times Magazine.

First you peel and coarsely chop the peaches. I had three sad-looking, wrinkly peaches that inspired me to make the ice cream, because every time I walked by them, I'd get a tease of their aroma, but they didn't look very appetizing. They were heaven, though. The skins peeled right off, without a knife or blanching, and then my knife went right through the flesh, which came right off the pitt. Add 1/4 cup sugar, a sprinkling of salt and a squeeze of lemon juice, then let them sit and macerate for half an hour.

While that's doing, combine 2 cups heavy cream with 6 tablespoons sugar and heat until the sugar dissolves. Then add a teaspoon vanilla and let it cool. When the peaches' half hour is over, pour the cream over them and put it in the fridge to chill. (Here's where things got frustrating for me. I had started chilling my ice cream maker canister about 8 hours before, and it wasn't enough time, but I started making the ice cream anyway, and it just wouldn't freeze. It may be obvious to most, but make sure the ice cream canister is frozen and the mixture is chilled before proceeding. I just put the mixture back in the fridge and refroze the canister, trying again at about midnight last night.) Do the ice cream maker thing to it, and then chill it in the freezer for some extra time or go ahead and eat it soft-serve.

I do think, next time, I might use fewer peaches, and cut them into smaller chunks. The chunks get kind of sorbet textured, frozen and cold, inside the creamy ice cream. The peaches release all this juice so everything ends up tasting like peach, and the ice cream part gets this pale peachy color. You've gotta love summer.