I stumbled across this idea when I was making one of my regular summertime batches of hibiscus tea, while also wishing that the peaches in a paper bag on my countertop would hurry up and ripen already. I peeled a peach, let it steep in the hot tea for a while, and there you have it. Not only did the peach soften, but it also took on the loveliest color from the hibiscus, not to mention that addictive flowery tang. I later gilded the lily by boiling down a little more of the tea to make a glaze. The best part: I still had my tea, which I later cut with sparkling water and spiked with tequila.

　　

Ingredients

1 not-quite-ripe peach, preferably a freestone (not cling) variety

　　2 cups water

　　1/4 cup dried hibiscus flowers

　　1/4 cup sugar

　　2 tablespoons low-fat Greek-style yogurt, whisked smooth

　　

Step 1

Peel the peach with a serrated vegetable peeler if you have one. If you don’t, pour the water into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Cut a shallow X shape on the bottom of the peach, and immerse it in the water for about 1 minute, then remove it with a slotted spoon and decrease the heat so that the water is at a bare simmer. Let the peach cool; peel the skin off, starting where it has curled up around the X shape. Cut the peach in half and remove the pit. (If you are able to peel the peach with a peeler, bring the water to a boil and then reduce to a bare simmer.)

　　

Step 2

Add the hibiscus and sugar to the water and stir to dissolve the sugar. Cook the hibiscus for about 5 minutes, until the water is a deep burgundy color. Immerse the peach halves, turn off the heat, and cover the saucepan. Let the peach sit in the hibiscus tea for at least 30 minutes, until it is stained red. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the peach halves to a dessert bowl.

　　

Step 3

Reserve about 1/4 cup of the hibiscus tea and one of the rehydrated hibiscus flowers. Strain the rest of the tea, transfer it to a pitcher, and refrigerate it for drinking; discard the flowers.

　　

Step 4

Pour the reserved hibiscus tea into a wide skillet set over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil and let it bubble away until it reduces to a syrupy glaze, 5 to 10 minutes.

　　

Step 5

Pour the glaze over the peach halves, garnish with the reserve hibiscus flower, drizzle with the Greek yogurt, and eat.

　　Reprinted with permission from Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One by Joe Yonan. Text copyright © 2011 by Joe Yonan; photographs copyright © 2011 by Ed Anderson. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.Joe Yonan is the food and travel editor at the Washington Post, where he writes the award-winning "Cooking for One" column. Joe's work also earned the Post the 2009 and 2010 James Beard Foundation's award for best food section. He is the former travel editor at the Boston Globe. Visit www.joeyonan.com.