For some reason, there are a ton of recipes out there for peaches and apricots. Muffins, ice cream, savory tarts, jam, crostata (to name a few). One reason we don't see a lot of nectarine recipes is that they're easily subbed in for peaches—no need for a distinctive dish. Another reason? Maybe the rest of the world isn't quite as in love with nectarines as we are right now...

In the past two weeks, we think we've eaten around two dozen nectarines. The ones we've bought have been mostly from California, although the last batch was labeled local. There hasn't been a bad one yet; they're all extremely sweet, juicy, and perfectly ripe.

Although we love a good peach, we find that nectarines are more consistent. We get fewer mealy ones, fewer tasteless ones. And these we've been eating are so good, we hesitate to bother looking for ways to gussy them up or cook them. Still, some good recipes that show them off couldn't hurt.

Right now, we're imagining a moist, brown sugar cake studded with big hunks of nectarine that we could eat for breakfast. That's in the works, and we'll let you know how it goes, if it goes. In the meantime, here are some other recipes we're eyeing:

• Nectarine Lime Curd Tart with Brown Sugar Crust, from Gourmet
• Baked Nectarines with Pistachios, from Martha Stewart Living (above, left)
• Nectarine Upside-Down Cake, at The Wednesday Chef
• Nectarine Cloud Pie, from Gourmet
• Bourbon Nectarine Ice Cream Sundaes with Pound Cake Croutons, from Food & Wine
• Spiced Nectarine Cake, from Bon Appétit (above, right)

Anyone want to offer ideas?

Related: Seasonal Combination: Fennel plus Nectarines

(Images: Leo Gong for Bon Appétit; MarthaStewart.com)

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