Jeff’s Corner

Here’s hoping everyone is enjoying a long and safe 4th of July weekend, celebrating the 243rd birthday of what has always been a great nation. Today, I’m going to skip the wine motif and stroll down memory lane and share a 4th of July tradition from our days in Port Aransas.

Our home was in “old town” on Channel View Drive, just a few blocks from the jetties and the ship channel. We had one of the few, if not only, peach tree in town. It bore the sweetest white-fleshed peaches I have ever tasted, and they ripened every year just before the 4th of July.

Each year on the 4th, Charles Butt would donate a huge fireworks display that was shot off from the ship channel just a couple hundred yards from our house. The traffic jams reached epic proportions by the harbor, but some of the best seats in the house were in our front yard.

As a result, our annual 4th of July peach daiquiri party was spawned. Our kitchen counter would be covered with dozens of peaches, a few bottles of rum, and a soon-to-be over-worked blender. We had a lot of friends, and before long the yard was full of lawn chairs and laughter while the blender whirled and the sky was a kaleidoscope of color and psychedelic booms.

We probably had close to a dozen of these soirees, with the last being in 2006. Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in ‘05 chased us to the Hill Country, and though it was heartbreaking to say goodbye, it was a good move.

In September 2017, a friend sent us a photo of our old home after Hurricane Harvey. The peach tree stood proudly in the backyard, but our home was a pile of rubble where the lawn chairs and laughter once were.

Anyway, time hurries on, and here’s the super-easy recipe for these super-yummy daiquiris; I don’t have exact measurements, so improvise to taste:  

In a standard size blender, pour 4-6 oz. dark rum. Bacardi Gold is great. Fill it 1/2 full of ice. I like them pretty peachy, so maybe 4 medium sized peaches. I squeeze them right into the pitcher, skins and all, then toss the stones. Fill the blender, but not all the way to the top, with more ice. You’ll want to add sugar to taste, about 1-2 tablespoons depending on the sweetness of your peaches. 

Blend on “blend”, not puree. When you see a vortex form at the top while blending, it is done, but you can add more sugar, peaches, or ice if necessary. A fresh peach slice on the rim of the glass is a nice touch.

This works for lots of fruit; I use blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, bananas, or a combo of any of the above.

Cheers to you, and to all Americans…