Every summer it’s the same story: Swoon over perfect-looking peaches piled high in the produce aisle. Bring a bunch home to ripen on the counter. Start dreaming about biting into a juicy, sweet-tart peach.  Try to contain disappointment when the whole lot turns out to be mealy and bland.  Vow to never again buy peaches from the grocery store. Repeat.

Determined to break this cycle, we planted a peach tree in our backyard a few years ago. But we also share the yard with a battalion of squirrels, so we’ve yet to harvest a single peach.  Fortunately, we still have the local farmers’ market every Sunday. For a few weeks in mid-late summer we gorge ourselves on perfect, picked-at-their-peak peaches.

A few weeks ago I made two trips to the farmers’ market in one day – early in the morning I bought 2 containers from my favorite peach grower, and then – fearing I wouldn’t have enough to last the week – I went back for more right before the market closed.  (Gorging is an appropriate verb, don’t you think?) The peaches were all gone! Sensing my desperation, the vendor offered me a great deal on the “unsaleables” from the back of his truck – perfectly ripe peaches with a few bruises or other imperfections that could easily be cut away. Sold!

Tonight I’d put the kids to work making homemade peach frozen yogurt with our “Mega Ball Play & Freeze Ice Cream Maker”! (Available through Amazon.com. Ice cream or yogurt mixture goes in one end of the ball, and kosher salt and ice go in the other. Pass the ball around until mixture turns to ice cream or fro-yo!)

Peach Frozen Yogurt

Makes 4 servings. Recipe can be doubled.

• 2 cups (approximately) skinned* peach chunks
• 2 cups (16-oz. container) nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup (if you like it tart) or 2/3 cup sugar

(* To skin peaches, bring a pot of water to a boil and immerse peaches for 1 minute. Remove peaches with a slotted spoon or strainer and place in a bowl of cold water. Skins should slip right off.)

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into ice cream maker of choice. (If using a Mega Ball, be sure to seal tightly and scrape down the sides every few minutes until desired consistency is reached.)

Ice and kosher salt getting added to one end of the Mega Ball.

Enjoying the fruits of one’s labors!

For best results, serve immediately.

[Note: For even easier fro-yo (more like soft-serve), simply blend frozen peach chunks, sugar and yogurt together in a heavy-duty blender. No ice cream maker required!]