When we lived in ND we could always count on this guy from Mott, ND, just south of us, to bring fresh Washington and Montana fruit to town. He picked the fruit himself, and the peaches in particular were always wonderful.
I have yet to see Washington peaches in the stores here, only California peaches which I never like very much. They never seem very juicy. Ditto for Georgia peaches.
Boommate is a connoisseur of Colorado peaches. They are now just starting to show up in stores and fruit trucks. She is so fussy, though, that she will only eat Colorado peaches from the Palisades area of the state, preferably grown by Talbott farms. A fruit truck came to town last week selling Colorado peaches but she couldn’t tell what part of Colorado they came from. We were lucky to find some in Sioux Falls yesterday and now they are ripening in paper bags. Boommate insists that I must make at least one crumble with them.
I have made a couple of crumbles this summer, one with nectarines and one with peaches. I have some more nectarines almost ripe enough to bake, and I plan to make them into a crumble with some sweet cherries. My crumbles are pretty simple. I just put about 6 cups of sliced fruit into a buttered 9 × 12 baking dish, mix up 2 c of white flour, 2 c of firmly packed light brown sugar, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t nutmeg, and a cup of butter in the food processor until it is crumbly, sprinkle it on top of the fruit, and bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes until it is nicely browned and the fruit is bubbling thickly.
Crumbles are my go to desserts in the summer. I don’t have the patience to can peaches or make jam from them. We bought two more bags of brown sugar yesterday so we are well provisioned for a few more crumbles this month.
What foods are you the most fussy about? Where do you like to buy your seasonal produce? Do you care where your peaches are from?
Trail Baboon 
Pears – I like d’anjou pears, which I find juicier at times than bartletts… but can’t always find them.
I used to gt to the Farmers Mkt here more often, but most of my produce comes from our local Midtown Grocery. Some from the co-op, esp. when they have fresh figs at the end of the summer.
I had a bought a couple of really nice peaches a couple of weeks ago, but I didn’t pay attention to their origin. Will check when I’m back at Midtown and see where they’re getting them…
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Well, I’ve gotta say that I like Ben’s eggs better than any others. I don’t know what’s in your yard where those hens peck, Ben, but your eggs are the best! I still buy most of my eggs from local farms, farmers’ markets, and the Co-op, but I prefer Ben’s when I can get them.
I love making crumbles, but I might love eating them more! Thanks for the recipe!
I can’t think of anything I’m that fussy about. I usually like other people’s cooking or baking much better than my own.
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Thanks Krista- We need to arrange another egg pick up / delivery!
There is a teacher at the college from China and she says my eggs are the best in the world. I’m not sure what makes them so special… they’re just ‘eggs’ to us. But glad you all like them.
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I recall getting some eggs from you that featured a label that proclaimed the eggs were “laid especially for you”. I liked that, although it did arouse some suspicion that those hens may not have been thinking that specifically of me during the laying process.
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Rise and Shine, Baboons,
I am quite picky about many foods and where they come from. Very probably this is the result of having helped raise our food as a child, then continuing the patterns long into adulthood. When the “Farm to Table” movement came along 20 or so years ago, I was amazed because there was never a time I did not eat that way. Apparently I had missed the entire evolution of food systems. Eating from local farmers and farmers’ markets is still my preference as I downsize my own garden.
The most definite rule I have: Never eat sweet corn that is not grown right near where I live. Corn frozen on the cob? Never!
Re: peaches. I too am a fan of Colorado peaches, although I do not carry it to the extent Boommate does. I also have found peaches from Ilinois, Michigan, Georgia juicy and delicious. My very favorite recipe: Fresh Peach Pie. Yum.
Will this be a “Share your recipe day?” Renee, what is your peach crumble recipe?
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Same as the nectarine crisp. I might add a tablespoon of flour to the peaches if they are particularly juicy. I don’t add anything else to the fruit..
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My father was really fussy about his sweet corn. It had to be local, recently picked, and not sitting out in the sun very long.
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Yes! A man of great taste.
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Yes…I’ve told a story before about my sister’s coworkers from the bookstore where she worked, picking sweet corn from a grower and calling the store to “start the water boiling” from the road – so that they could insure it was cooked in less than an hour after picking.
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My favorite sweet corn has the small white & yellow kernels that just pop off the cob. I know many people love the State Fair corn on the cob but I’ll take a pass on that.
Update: I was discharged from rehab yesterday and am now settling into an assisted living apartment in Richfield. I’ll still receive PT and OT while here in order to gain strength and stamina. My older sister flew in from the East Coast to help both me and my younger sister. To celebrate my almost independence, we ate at Pizza Luce last night. I’m feeling more human every day.
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That’s great, K-Two. May you soon be back to indepence. Having to rely on others for any length of time, sucks.
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Glad you’re able to settle in and get on with it,K-Two!
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I have a cousin living in one of the big buildings in Richfield. You might be his neighbor!
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OT
September 20
Minnehaha Falls / Sea Salt Restaurant
2 p.m.
(back up is Kathy & Jim’s)
Unruly: Ridiculous History of England’s Kings & Queens by David Mitchell
&
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,/i> by Maya Angelou
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I grew up in California, where almost everyone else’s fruit comes from. California fruit is very fresh there. I’ve resided in two “Peachy” states: Georgia and New Jersey. The local peaches in each of these states are very fresh, too. Now I’m in Michigan, and peaches from anywhere else leave me somewhat disappointed. I wonder… is it the “ride in a truck” distance between the tree and me?
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I think you might be on to something, David.
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My first exposure to American tomatoes was in Moscow. Up until that time, I knew tomatoes only as a locally grown fruit, most often within the confines of a greenhouse. But man, oh man, they were tasty, juicy, and bright red; just wonderful.
Living, as I did for a while, at the American embassy, all of our household groceries came from the American commissary. This included fruits and vegetables. Let’s just say, I was not impressed with the quality of the produce, and the tomatoes were large, pale, and had no flavor.
Two years later, while working in Greenland, I was exposed to American tomatoes on a larger scale. Working in a hotel kitchen, we’d get cases of American grown tomatoes. I have no idea how long those tomatoes had been in transit, but I know that they had a foul smell, looked and tasted awful. Though I don’t know this for a fact, I suspect the reason we got American rather than Danish tomatoes at the hotel had to do with cost. What a dreadful waste of money.
I’m with Jacque, I want my veggies to be as fresh as possible. Our own garden is pretty pathetic this year (don’t ask), the local farmers’ market is a godsend. I’m also really impressed with the quality of the produce at our local co-op.
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I just received my bi-weekly Co-op email newsletter; first item is how to sign up for a case of Colorado Peaches, to arrive later in August…
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The neighborhood co-op has Colorado peaches right now, so I should grab some.
I was born in southeast Iowa, and my mother liked to tell that she was canning peaches from their trees with her mother the day before I was born, so I always have to have one in tribute.
I suspect having a peach tree in the yard must have seemed pretty wonderful to a Minnesota girl. Even when we had moved further north, she would get a “lug” and make peach jam and pie.
I’m fussy about my tomatoes. Once they are done for the season, that’s it for me and any tomatoes that aren’t processed
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I’m picky about a lot of foods, which is why we make so much ourselves. For food we buy from a store, we tend to find a brand we like and stick with it.
We always get Colorado peaches. My mom used to buy a crate of them in the summer and I never tried anything else. I’ve heard that the Palisades peaches are superior, but I don’t seek them out.
When local apples are available, we always get Fireside or Connell Red. They’re getting harder to find, so we’ve had to branch out. We get a lot of produce from local farmer’s markets this time of year and have favorite growers we can rely on for tomatoes, green beans, sweet corn, etc.
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Perhaps, in retrospect, I should have preceded this by commenting, “And now for something completely different.”
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Unique! Who knew?
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