BITS & PIECES: Peach Season

Hey, ya'll. Come on in for a glass of iced tea and there will soon be peach cobbler. One of my favorite seasons has just opened - Peach Season. I have a whole bunch of peaches in my dining room waiting to be eaten or frozen and it smells like Peach Heaven in there. I absolutely love peaches and at the bottom of this posting I am sharing with you the recipe I use the most.

We are only about 25 minutes from the small town of Barney. There is not much there but peach trees, blueberry bushes and 2 produce markets. The pictures I have today are from Luck Moody but I also go to Burton Brooks. They are right across the road from each other and both have large peach orchards. You are getting peaches picked that day or the day before and they are so good.

The Luck Moody market is the one I use most for one of the family members was one of my favorite students several years ago at Lowndes High School. Often she is working there and we get to chat a minute.

These are the PEACHES! Aren't they beautiful and they are juicy and sweet. The first ones to ripen are the cling peaches or those which cling to the pits. I like to use these to peel, slice and freeze for pies, cobblers and ice cream. I often buy a big box for 5 dollars of the seconds to freeze for they don't have to be perfect for this. They also make great preserves for they are a little more firm than the later ones.

In addition to the peaches they have other fruits and vegetables. This is the watermelon wagon and the cantaloupes should be coming in soon. I like the way they have decorated the market for it is pretty and inviting. You can see behind the wagon a display of condiments made from peaches. There are chutneys, preserves, peach butter, etc. On the left of the wagon is always a couple of big pots of hot, boiled peanuts. Yummy, salty and fresh.

One of the best products they have is Peach Nectar! It is made here in GA and when you put it on ice, get it really cold and pour a glass it is Peachy Paradise. It is non alcoholic and mixed with sweet iced tea is deeeelicious.

Their other specialty is homemade peach ice cream and you can see that Roy is enjoying a cup while I enjoyed a cone. It is soft ice cream and has lots of peaches in it and is wonderful on a hot, summer day. You have to eat it quickly lest it melt.

This is the porch to the side of the building with this path just inviting you to come on up, sit at a picnic table and enjoy your ice cream, cold drink or eat a fresh peach. I like to just wash them and eat them like an apple and let the juice run down your arm and be all sticky. A warm, fresh peach is nectar from the gods, so to speak. If the juice doesn't run down your arm it is not a good peach but been shipped in from California. Not too good. Just stick to those good, ole Georgia peaches. Now I have to admit that Alabama has some good ones up around Clanton, AL.

This is my favorite peach or fruit cobbler for it is quick and easy. It is from the Alabama Recipes book which Kathryn Tucker Windham compiled in 1967. Kathryn is a dear friend who traveled over the different areas of Alabama and collected their good recipes.

SUMMER DAY FRUIT COBBLER

1 STICK BUTTER
¾ CUP FLOUR
1 CUP SUGAR
2 TSP. BAKING POWDER
1 TSP. CINNAMON
PINCH SALT
¾ CUP MILK
2 CUPS SWEETENED FRUIT (PEACHES, BLUEBERRIES, CHERRIES, FRUIT OF CHOICE)
LEMON ZEST FROM ONE LEMON

Put stick of butter in baking dish or casserole in oven. Set at 350 degrees and let butter melt. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt and pour into casserole with melted butter. On top of this mixture put the sweetened fruit. DO NOT STIR. Sprinkle lemon zest on top and bake at 350 degrees until crusty. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

One of our favorite cobblers is to combine our blueberries we grow with the peaches. This combination is very good. I hope you will try it and find your local produce market and buy freshly picked not shipped in. It is better and will support your local farmers.

Now ya'll be careful going home and come back to see us sometimes. It was good to share with you and enjoy the cobbler.