On Orcas Island, people show up at Audra Lawlor's door with boxes filled with plums, apples, quince, or whatever their yard gave up that week. Some of it arrives by ferry from neighboring islands, and some of it comes from folks who want nothing more than a jar of preserves in return.
Anyone who has tried to peel a ripe tomato with a paring knife knows how it usually ends, with more fruit lost than peel removed. Peaches have the same problem, their fuzzy exterior clinging just as stubbornly to what's underneath. The fix for both is a quick trip through boiling water, a technique called blanching, which loosens the peel without cooking the fruit itself. While the method is nearly identical for each, timing is important.
Open the crisper drawer and there is a chance something in there that has wilted. The good news is that wilted produce has almost always lost water, and there is a simple fix. How you do it depends on the shape of what's wilting — veggies with a solid stem or stalk take up water from a cut base, but leaves, herbs, and smaller vegetables need a full soak instead.
