Heat Wave

We had a heat wave - in fact, two heat waves, so far - here in Northern California. September and October are our warmest months and this year we've already had more than our share of hot days.

We have learned to open all doors and windows at night, then to close up the house early in the morning to keep that cool air inside but, even so, by dinner time, it's too hot to turn on an oven or a burner.

However, the idea of raw pork was shudder-producing, so we decided to barbecue our dinner to beat the heat. The bone-in chops went right on the grill, but away from the direct heat of the fire, giving them a smoky-but-not-burny flavor. The corn, ditto. Delicious, both of them. But the hit of the evening was the peaches.

I "planked" the peaches, cooking them over the direct heat of the fire but shielded by a cedar shingle*, the thin end of which smoldered and smoked, lending its flavor to the sizzling peach halves on top. They were a killer accompaniment to the pork, made sweeter by the concentrating heat of the fire but still with that peach kick that keeps them from being cloying.

Good meal for a heat wave.

*If you want to try this, be sure to ask your local lumberman for untreated cedar shingles - you don't want fire retardant in your food.