The produce section of my neighborhood supermarket has been flooded with fresh fruit lately. And I can’t seem to say no to any of it.

This morning, peaches were 88 cents a pound. And while they may not be Fredericksburg’s finest, they have had good flavor, especially if I wait a couple of days before cutting into them.

Mandarin oranges were under $1 a pound, and while the bing cherries have slipped up a little in price from a rock-bottom under $2 a pound, they were still a bargain.

Watermelon is a staple in my house, as are lemons and limes.

What do you do with all of that fruit? Cobblers? Fruit salads?

I like to make fruit salsas. Oranges chopped up with radishes, mint or fennel. Watermelon with Kalamata olives and feta cheese. Lime juice and a pinch of salt make a perfect dressing when needed.

Here are a few recipes I’ve chopped up recently and a couple I’ve planned for the near future. The first two are adapted from “Salsas: The Santa Fe Cooking School Series,” by Susan Curtis and Kathi Lang. The remainder are inspired by the way the flavors and textures in those recipes have been layered.

Mango Salsa

Great with grilled tuna or salmon as well as fish tacos. Or make a fish salad by added 1 pound of grilled tuna or salmon to the recipe.

2 large ripe mangoes
1/2 English cucumber, cut into ¼-inch dice, or 1 medium cucumber, seeded, cut into ¼-inch dice
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and cut in ¼-inch dice
1/3 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
1 jalapeño or 2 serranos, minced
Lime juice, to taste
Salt, to taste

Peel the mangoes with a mango cutter or a small sharp knife. Cut the flesh away from the large flat pit in two pieces, then cut it from the narrow edges of the pit. Cut these pieces into ¼-inch dice.

In a medium bowl, combine the diced mango, cucumber, onion, red pepper, cilantro, jalapeño, lime juice and salt. Toss gently.

Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Makes 3 cups.

Adapted from “Salsas: The Santa Fe Cooking School Series,” by Susan Curtis and Kathi Lang

Bing Cherry-Pistachio Salsa

Serve this with quail, game, duck or good to garnish a cold soup of melon or cherries.

8 ounces fresh bing cherries, stems and pits removed, or 10 ounces frozen bing cherries, thawed
½ cup shelled, toasted, roughly chopped pistachios or ½ cup toasted pine nuts
¼ cup cilantro chiffonade
1 tablespoon juice from chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
Pinch of coarse salt, to taste
Pinch of sugar, to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice, to taste

Roughly chop cherries and stir in pistachios, cilantro, chipotle juice, salt, sugar and lime juice. Serve.

Makes 1 ½ to 2 cups.

Adapted from “Salsas: The Santa Fe Cooking School Series,” by Susan Curtis and Kathi Lang

Peach and Jicama Salsa

This would be good atop simply sautéed white fish or roasted pork loin.

3 freestone peaches, peeled, seeded and cut into ¼-inch dice
½ cup peeled and cubed jicama
1 medium red onion, cut into ¼-inch dice
1 tablespoon mint, cut into chiffonade
1 jalapeño, minced
Lime juice, to taste
Salt, to taste

Combine peaches, jicama, onion, mint, jalapeño, lime juice and salt. Let sit 20 minutes.

Cucumber-Lime Salsa

This would be good on white fish or as a side salad.

1 English cucumber, cut into ¼-inch dice, or 1 1/2 large cucumbers, seeded and cut ¼-inch dice
1 red onion, chopped
Salt, to taste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chile flakes, or to taste
¼ cup flat Italian parsley chiffonade, sorrel chiffonade or mint chiffonade (or a combination of any of the three), divided use
Juice of 1 lime
Zest of 1 lime

In a bowl, mix cucumber, onion and a sprinkling of salt. Let sit for 10 minutes. Drain any juices. Mix in chile flakes, all but 1 tablespoon of herbs and lime juice. Let sit for another 10 minutes for flavors to settle. Garnish with lime zest and reserved herbs.

The setup of Erick’s Tacos is different. The part of the kitchen where you get your tacos is housed in a mobile unit on one side of the dining area. The other part, where you order your raspas and licuados, is on the other side.

In between is a former garage with no fourth wall or door. That means you are sitting in the heat of the day while you eat some incredibly spicy tacos. Only a few overhead fans keep the air circulating.

Yet no one seems to mind.

Maybe it’s because the tacos are so good. Maybe it’s because the Mexican Coke is almost as icy as a raspa. Maybe it’s because the scene feels just right.

Whatever the reason, I found myself looking forward to a return visit almost as soon as I had finished the first.

On that discovery day, I encountered a slight language barrier as the cook spoke no English and my Spanish was a bit rusty. I somehow managed to get the plate of tacos al pastor on small corn tortillas that I had wanted. The appearance was dazzling to the eye, as the tacos arrived showered with an abundance of cilantro and onion.

With a squirt of lime juice and a squeeze of fiery green salsa, they tasted even better than they looked, and the tortillas were so hot they singed my fingertips.

The heat of the seasoned pork and a welcome touch of grease made each bite reveal depths of flavor that went beyond the usual world of Tex-Mex. I washed it down with a Mexican Fresca made with real sugar instead of corn syrup or nasty chemical-tasting artificial sweeteners. The zing of the soda’s grapefruit flavor was a perfect complement to chiles.

Who needs air conditioning with food this good?

I was so pleased with the meal I returned with a friend the next night. This time it was for tacos made with a mixture of chorizo and bifstek while he had tacos al carbon covered with crumbled white cheese. We ordered the dinner plates for $5.50, which came with four mini-tacos, grilled onions and one of the hottest cooked jalapeños in some time.

The tacos al carbon were pristine compared with the others, dripping in chorizo juices. Yet I wasn’t sorry with my order.

While some might blanch at the mention of the grease in a few of the tacos, it helped me understand the popularity of Erick’s. The place is busiest, one employee told us, after midnight, after folks have been partying and need a little fortification to face the next day. The tacos de cabeza are probably a big seller then. On weekends, you’ll sometimes find people there after 4 a.m.

The tamales we tried — chicken, instead of the pork that we’d ordered — were plump, full of meat and moist without being greasy. A bit of the cilantro-heavy red salsa added a welcome bite.

Lime and chile proved an unbeatable combination whether we were ordering a fruit cup laden with fresh mango and watermelon or a corn in cup with sweet kernels just cut from the cob. The later was also slathered in mayonnaise, offering a tantalizing balance of sweet, sour, hot and spicy.

Most everything at Erick’s Tacos is eaten with your hands (you can get a spoon if you need one). But good food needs no pretense.

Close

Erick’s Tacos
12715 Nacogdoches Road
(210) 590-0994
Hours are 11 a.m. until at least 3 a.m. daily.
$

$ = $10 or under per entrée
$$ = $10-$20
$$$ = $20-$30
$$$$ = $30 and up

La Yunta La Rioja Torrontés 2008

Fact: Torrontés is an emerging white wine grape from Argentina.  It makes a wide variety of wines, from light to medium like this one and on to much more robust wines that rival Chardonnay in power.  La Rioja is a province in Argentina and the Famatina valley, where the grapes were sourced, lies with its border.

There’s a restrained nose, hinting of citrus-pear.  The immediate effect on the palate was more floral and mixed, tropical fruits.  But as the wine aerated on the tongue there was a real explosion of grapefruit zest and juice, with a lesser grapefruit rind on the finish.  The label refers to a touch of French oak; it must be a light touch.  Moderate body and a lengthy finish on this $8-10 wine.

Feeling: A pale-colored wine with surprisingly vibrant flavors.  The surprises of the chilled fruits are perfect to sip while you flip through travel magazines about the Caribbean.  Martinique or the spice island, Grenada, anyone?

Cherries have been plentiful this season, and prices continue to drop while the natural sweetness of the fruit rises.

The following recipe is a tradition in the Hesse, Baden and Swabia areas of Germany. There it is called Kirschenmichel or Kershenplotzer. As related in the definitive “The Cuisines of Germany,” which first appeared in 1980: “Cherry cobbler was a particular favorite with potato or chervil soup on Saturday for lunch. Nowadays, it is frequently served in restaurants with a dollop of whipped cream on top.”

This recipe is relatively easy to put together, but your hands will get dyed dark red from pitting fresh cherries. I don’t have a fancy pitter, but the work went quickly after the first dozen or so.

The batter is strange looking, because of the milk-soaked bread that breaks down into crumbs as you stir. But the results are worth it. The dish, as much a clafouti or bread pudding as it is a cobbler, is eggy rich in addition to bursting with fresh fruit flavor.

Cherry Cobbler, or Kirschenmichel

1 tablespoon bread crumbs
9 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar (or more, if the cherries are sour)
6 eggs, separated
4 tablespoons kirschwasser (cherry liqueur) (see Note)
6 stale dinner rolls, sliced, or 6 thick slices white bread, dried in the oven
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 pounds cherries (sweet or sour, fresh or out of a jar), pitted and drained
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Take a round springform or a 1 1/2-quart soufflé pan, grease generously with butter, and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Stir the butter and sugar until frothy; blend in the egg yolks, one at a time, until you have a smooth batter. Add the kirsch.

Soak the roll slices in milk, and then stir these into the batter. Wash and drain the cherries thoroughly, then mix them into the dough. Add a little salt to the egg whites, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold into the dough.

Spread the dough in the pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until golden brown and cooked at the center to the point where an inserted toothpick comes out clean. The Kirschenmichel tastes best when still warm from the oven, but takes to the freezer very well and still tastes quite good when reheated.

Note: You may also want to add a 1/8 teaspoon almond extract in addition to the kirschwasser.

Makes 8-12 servings.

From “The Cuisines of Germany” by Horst Scharfenberg

Andeluna Tupungato Malbec 2007

Australia has Shiraz, California has Zinfandel, and Argentina has Malbec. Malbec is used in making the red blends we call Bordeaux. But Bordeaux has never made a Malbec like Argentina. This flavorful red grape can range from medium body to robust to truly incredible. It is used to make rosé wines and red blends in Argentina, but it shines as a stand-alone star.

Fact: Started tasting this wine at about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. I think that I may do this with all Malbecs as they drink very well at that ‘more than two hours in the refrigerator’ temperature. The nose was just spicy-red fruity at that temp, but as it warmed we got a lot more tart blackberry, mint, and vanilla. The flavors when truly cold were still fairly vibrant; bright raspberry-plum, toast, and cinnamon. With a return to more usual wine temp (55-65 degrees) it showed moderate blackberry-raspberry, vanilla, cocoa, and spice flavors, with mild tannin and an easy finish. As it warmed to more of a Texas temp (70-75 degrees) the nose stayed the same, with maybe a bit more spice, but the flavors did get richer, with more depth. $10 to 14 locally.

Why did I put this wine through the wringer? Because I needed to see if it would perform well for your changing needs, of course. It is like having three wines in one. Texas temp for the three cold days we have in San Antonio, the over-night-in-the-fridge temp for the 362 days we usually have in San Antone, and the ‘accepted’ temp for when you are serving a nice dinner.

Feeling: The really cold Malbec was not as good as the slightly warmer one, but it felt so good to sip a spicy, cold drink that reminded you of a chilled fruit plate. Hot times need lighter clothing, room temperature dishes like ham salads or tabbouleh or cheeses and chewy breads. They need a cold, refreshing wine that is as robust as the day is bright. Now you don’t have to wait until November for red wine.

Fruit, milk and yogurt offer a tangy base for these frozen confections.

Yogurt Fruit Pops

1 cup milk
1 cup plain yogurt
2 cups frozen fruit (though I often times in mix whatever I happen to have on hand)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons honey

Blend milk, yogurt, fruit, vanilla and honey until smooth in heavy duty blender. If necessary, add more milk to get a very thick but still pourable consistency.  Pour into a frozen treat mold or paper cups.  If using a mold with built-in sticks, insert them immediately.  If using traditional wooden sticks, freeze fruit mixture for about 1/2 hour, then add the sticks.  Freeze until solid.  To unmold, run tap water on the outside of the mold for a few seconds.

Note: With peaches only, I add cinnamon and nutmeg.  Another favorite is strawberry, peach and banana.  Before my bananas become overripe, I peel and freeze them (work great for these pops and banana bread).

From Kristina Mistry.

I went to the supermarket the other day to stock up on frozen juice snacks to stave off the heat for a short while.

Trouble is, I made the mistake of reading the ingredient label on the various options before not buying. High fructose corn syrup, sugar and artificial sweeteners were in each, sometimes in multiple combinations thereof. Not what I want to consume to battle heat fatigue, especially since excess sugar only makes you hotter in the long run.

So, I decided to make my own fruit pops. It’s a simple enough process, and it’s less costly than some designer ices.

You can use your own molds, like the new Ice Pop molds at Central Market that come with their own stand, or you can use paper cups.

All I did was place some chunks of fresh watermelon in the food processor, squeeze fresh lime juice over the top and added a few drops of agave nectar. Once it was processed, I poured the mixture into cups and set them in the freezer for 20 minutes while they began to set. Then I inserted straws (I didn’t have sticks, though spoons or sturdy coffee stirs would also work), covered the cups with plastic wrap and let them freeze.

When it was time to eat, I peeled off the paper cup and had something cool and refreshing for a mid-afternoon snack.

The combination of flavors can be whatever you have on hand. Think orange juice and strawberries. Mango and kiwi. Peaches and banana. Canned pineapple and peaches in syrup. And most anything with lime, from cantaloupe to cherries to peeled cucumber.

Kristina's Yougurt Fruit Pop

Sounds like a frozen version of smoothie? It is, in a way. And you can add other items you like in smoothies, from yogurt (click here for a recipe) to ground almonds or shredded coconut.

Use the food processor or blender instead of the juicer for all of your fruit but citrus, if you want retain the fiber.

Why include agave nectar? It, too, is a sweetener but it doesn’t affect most people’s glycemic index the way sugar does. Honey is another natural option, so is a syrup of your own making, which allows you control of how much you can add. Regardless of what you use, a sweetener is important because of the flavor of your fruit pop. Freezing causes the natural flavors of a food to contract, while the sweetener helps them  stay closer to the surface. In other words, you’d have to let your unsweetened fruit thaw before you tasted much of anything from it; and that just seems to defeat the whole purpose, doesn’t it?

The caller was urgent. “What kind of hors d’oeuvres should I serve at a cocktail party this time of year?” he wanted to know.

The gathering would be later in the evening and feature little more than snacks and drinks. “I’m hoping everybody’s had dinner by then,” he said.

Yet he also wanted to serve something meaty.

My first thought was pork tenderloin, which you can season to your taste and make ahead of time. Just slice it up and serve cold or at room temperature with a few condiments, ranging from mustard to pickled red onions.

Ceviche also came to mind. This marinated seafood dish looks great, is coolly refreshing, and can be put together at the last minute, all the while suggesting you’ve been slaving over the food.  (The accompanying recipe is from Jonathan Parker’s “The Manhattan Ocean Club Seafood Cookbook.” Parker has cooked in several San Antonio restaurants, including Pesca on the River and Ounce.)

If you want to rely on the deli to help, find the best roast beef you can afford, such as the house-made version at Central Market, 4821 Broadway. Have it sliced relatively thin (not as thin as prosciutto) and fold a piece on top of a garlic bagel crisp. Crumble blue cheese and toss some arugula on top. Serve horseradish sauce, a flavored mayonnaise or two, chimichurri sauce and/or mustard on the side. Your entire snack is done and you didn’t have to turn on the oven.

Italian lovers might want to get together an antipasti selection, including grilled or oven-roasted asparagus with a drizzle of olive oil and Parmesan cheese on top as well as grilled squashes, roasted peppers, tomatoes, skewers of garlic potatoes, eggplant, and jalapeños. This is another approach that should be done ahead of time, because the vegetables taste best when served at room temperature.

Complement the tray with various salami, olives and rustic cheeses, both hard and soft.

Don’t forget the power of fruit. So much is in season now, from melons to cherries. Serve strawberries with chocolate-flavored whipped cream. Stuff fresh figs with goat cheese and wrap in a slice of prosciutto. Grill peach halves and pineapple slices (see the accompanying recipe for Grilled Pineapple With Sweet Rum Glaze).

Here are a few other ideas from SavorSA writers that are easy yet elegant for summer parties:

• If you are serving crudités, add some color to the tray with an old Cuban recipe that friends and I have enjoyed on many occasions: Take ham slices and wrap them around pickles. Vary that with asparagus or hearts of palm.
• Pick up empanadas from Beto’s Comida Latina, 7325 Broadway.
• Chicken salad sandwiches and cucumber sandwiches, tea party-style, are great with many white wines.
• Last, but certainly not least: Salsa, guac and chips — c’mon, it’s San Antonio!

What do you like to serve at cocktail parties during the summer? Post your comments below.