So! It’s been a while since I’ve made a blog post, huh? I was on an epic staycation. We’ve had good friends from college staying with us for nearly a week. I love the feeling of having our home brimming with friends having a good time. It was a much-needed break. As our office room became one of our “guest rooms,” I haven’t even touched this computer in a week. And you know what? It felt pretty darn good not to. Not that I am tired of blogging. But taking a little time off gave me a fresh perspective on things. By the time our staycation was over, I was itching to blog some of our food from the week.

On one of the first days our friends were here, we headed up to Sauvie Island to raid the fruit farms. We came home with quarts of blackberries and strawberries, and approximately 30 lbs. of peaches. Yes, you read that right! Here’s some of it being weighed:

What we didn’t know at the time was exactly HOW ripe most of these peaches were. It quickly became apparent that we would need to use them very soon, like within one or two days. We canned some (recipe to come), made a huge blackberry peach cobbler with some more and finally made bellinis (we had earned the drink!).

We drank these alongside some blackberry pancakes. Yes, that recipe will come also. There’s much to blog and even more photos to edit. I took A LOT of photos.

For the homemade belinis, here’s what you need:

• 2 parts sparkling wine/Champagne/equivalent
• 1 part fresh peach puree

For the peach puree: this is not exact, but basically we filled our blender with sliced fresh peaches and pulse until it reaches your desired texture. We had a less-smooth drink because we left the peaches’ skins on, but I love the taste of the peach skins and try not to remove them unless the situation absolutely requires it. They give the flavor an added tartness.

We found that when using peach puree as opposed to peach juice, it is best to put the champagne in first. Otherwise you get a bit of a parfait because of the relative density of the parfait. So, on that note: fill your flutes 2/3 of the way full of champagne, then gently add the peach puree. Stir with a thin spoon and serve.