To me it’s children who make summer. Otherwise, you just have time passing by. But with children, there’s surfing, swimming, kayaking, biking, yoga in the park, picnics at the beach, aloe on the sunburn, shoulder rides, and a whole lot of salty hugs.

Of course, there’s another thing that makes the season: ripe, juicy peaches.

Since we have an abbondanza of peaches this summer, plus a decided personal need to keep the internal flora as bright and vibrant as summer’s all-surrounding flora, I’ve been making a lot of gently fermented cashew cream to accompany the peaches.

It’s this perfect pairing that makes a meal sing – creamy and juicy, thick and light, sweet and tart, sour and fruity. It’s freedom and soaring joy without breaking Ayurveda’s rule of not mixing dairy and fruit (as most commercial yogurts do).

Like Romeo and Juliet, Penelope and Odysseus, Tristan und Isolde, it’s a union of souls.

Peaches And Cashew Cream Recipe (Dairy Free)

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 4-6 hours
• the juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of pink salt
• dash of cardamom
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 probiotic capsule

Directions

1. Rinse and drain the cashews. Discard any that have gone brown, black or grey. Pour them into an electric blender and add everything but the probiotic. Blend until creamy, adding more or less water to get the consistency you want. Open the probiotic capsule and pulse the blender to mix lightly but thoroughly.
2. Taste, then spoon into a glass container. Cover with a plate then set in a warm, dark place for 2-3 hours. Taste again. It is done when it begins to taste sour.
3. Cashew Cream is gorgeous as a summer snack or dessert served with fresh fruit, torn mint leaves and an extra squeeze of fresh lemon. It is also healthy, hearty and sunny enough for breakfast where you might add fruit, flaxseeds, pepitas, soaked pistachios, a drizzle of honey or a spoonful of chyavanprash.

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