Kim Wilbanks

What says summer more than a juicy, Georgia peach? Ok, maybe an ice cold slice of watermelon. But for me, especially this year, it’s a Georgia peach.

So Many Peaches

I felt like I was in a scene of the movie “Forest Gump” last weekend.  I had purchased a twenty-five pound box of fresh, Georgia peaches and was racing against time to process them before they spoiled.  I made a peach cobbler, peach butter, peach salsa, peach caprese salad and peach and jalapeño cornbread.  I blanched, peeled and sliced about three dozen peaches which I froze and, for the first time ever, canned.  We ate peaches on our cereal and oatmeal and stood at the sink eating the delicious fruit plain, the juice running down our arms.

I don’t normally buy that many peaches at one time.  Actually, I’m not very good at picking out ripe fruit.  I often end up throwing it away.

But, these peaches were special.  They were from The Peach Truck headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, a place close to my heart since my son lives there.  He lives in Germantown, within walking distance of the Farmer’s Market.  He introduced me to The Peach Truck a few summers ago. My husband and I  buy a small bag of peaches to enjoy when we’re in town during the summer.

I received an email a few weeks ago about local events on the calendar.  One thing in particular caught my eye — The Peach Truck was coming to town.  They were sending truckloads of peaches all over the Southeastern United States and my hometown was on the list.  I knew I had to go.

I planned to go and buy a few peaches, think about Nashville and my son and kick off summer in the south. 

After a little digging, I discovered the only option for purchase was a twenty-five pound box of of the succulent, summer fruit.  Yikes!  What was I going to do with all those peaches?

I set my alarm early to get to the drive-in theater where the truck was scheduled to be. (Yes, our hometown still has an active drive-in movie theater.)  I arrived just before the appointed hour, 8:00 a.m. and people were already loading their cars with boxes of peaches they were getting from the peach-colored semi-truck.  I took my place at the back of the line of about eighty people.  More people joined me as we patiently waited.  It was a streamlined operation and I was in my car, driving home with my box of peaches at 8:10.  Can I just say, the car smelled heavenly?

The Peach Truck is Here

The Line For Peaches

My Box of Peaches

Summer Bounty

Summer Goodness

Peaches Ready For Canning

Canning Peaches

Peach Cobbler and Ice Cream

Peach Caprese Salad

Peach Jalapeno Cornbread

Peach Salsa

Summer Sunshine in a Jar

Memories of Amish Country

I thought back to a trip I took with a couple of friends to the Amish country in Ohio a few years ago.  We arranged to have a Mennonite woman show us around the area and we ended up spending a lot of time with her and her husband.  I think we shared three or four meals with them.  They were a delightful couple and enhanced the time we spent in their part of the world.

One of my favorite things was visiting the Millers in their home.  Mrs. Miller showed us the basement kitchen were she did all of her canning.  She even gave us each a quart of peaches to take home.  We traveled by air so it was no small feat to get the jar of peaches home without  them breaking and soaking our clothes.  Bubble wrap to the rescue. 

The peaches made it back to Florida and we were able to enjoy them and remember our time in Ohio.  I know it was just a quart of fruit, which I could have purchased at home, but it tasted all the more delicious because I knew the person who worked hard to put them up. 

The Fruits of Her Labor

Where The Canning Happens

Bless The Giver

Goodness in Jars

The Peaches Made It

More Than Just Some Fruit

So, I have a few jars of peaches, the color of sunshine, in my pantry and a few bags in my freezer.  On the surface, it’s just some fruit.  When I open that first jar or defrost that first bag, I guarantee I’ll be thinking of Nashville and my boy, a sweet Mennonite couple in Ohio and the sweet days of summer.

Are you a peach lover?  If so, what’s your favorite way to enjoy them?  Don’t love peaches?  What is your favorite summertime fruit?

Happy Summer Everyone!