Friday, August 10, 2007

Isn't this just peachy?

Peach season is finally here, and this year we visited Williamson Orchards in the Sunnyslope area west of Nampa. It's a family-run fruit and vegetable farm with lots of country charm.











Their outdoor produce market.













When there are
twelve varieties of peaches available, it's not easy to decide. We settled on July Flame and Vista.











Buckets & buckets of peaches!
















This is the only prepared vegan pie crust available at my Co-op. It's organic and there is a whole wheat variety as well. It's a great tasting crust, and when you're in a pinch it'll do just fine.








I was more than happy to test this '
Cinnamon Sugar Peach Pie' recipe for Julie Hasson's upcoming pie book. Here it is before the top crust was placed. For a cool step-by-step of this peachy pie, visit Boo's a veg-a-nut.

This peach pie is so delicious that I made it twice! It's an easy recipe with fabulous results -- just my kind. :)




We still had a plethora of peaches after making two peach pies! I was able to can 12 pint size jars, and freeze 2 quart size baggies.








and, I still had enough to make 'Kim's Peach-zza' from La Dolce Vegan! And don't let the title fool you, this does not count for dinner!
What could be more peachy than all this? One of our babysitters has been perusing my books, and told me she wants to go veg! She asked some questions, read this article, and borrowed my "Diet for a New America". It makes me hopeful to see people eliminating meat. How do you encourage propective veggies?

17 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

as with the cherries, apricots, and other seasonal ingredients you've featured in recent posts, I continue to be amazed at how innovative your uses and recipes are with the ingredients!! stunning!!

as for encouraging "prospective veggies," I tell them how much healthier I feel inside and out, and of course let them taste delicious vegan food. however, I feel that the decision to go veg is ultimately up to them - I don't like preaching.

radioactivegan said...

I think letting her taste lots of good food, and perhaps even inviting her over to prepare some dishes (if she's interested in cooking) is a good way to introduce your babysitter to a veg-life.

Anonymous said...

lucky girls!!

this looks so awesome!

Anonymous said...

You've really come across some terrific local produce lately. TN hasn't had much produce this year. All of the "family farms" that have pick your own fruit are closed. We had a warming at the beginning of April and all the trees started to flower. Then we had a frost at the end of April killing much of the tender new starts. And now we've had the worst drought on record since 1970's. It's very sad.

Sheree' said...

How fun! I am telling you, YOU ARE SO LUCKY!! I picked all that was left on my moms peach tree and now it is bare. Very short season for her one little tree. Your pie looks lovely. Juile's recipe is wonderful. Thank you for the link to my blog! I so enjoy your wonderful posts.

turquoise cro said...

PEACHY!!!xoxooxo

laura k said...

Wow, all your peachy treats look stunning. I'm jealous of all your fresh, beautiful produce.

Amey said...

oh Dang Vicki!!!
I want to come live with you! Look at all that canning!! RIGHT ON. I am very interested in preserving, although I don't have too much experience. I always make a few batches of jam each year, and I have canned tomato sauce & veggie broth in the past... but otherwise I need to learn more. Doesn't it feel wonderfully industrious and old-fashioned!?

I think you are already doing all the right things to encourage potential veggies - mostly it's be happy and healthy. Beyond that, if anyone expresses even the slightest interest, I am always honest and encouraging. I admit that it can be hard at first, but then immediately say that it ends up being very easy and wonderful. This is the part where I have to be careful not to get too excitable. Pick a few of the miraculous benefits and lightly discuss them. Express how many wonderful resources there are out there - and how, if they're interested in cooking a meal together or borrowing a cookbook (or whatever) - that'd be great.

That's my tactic! I have converted many folks over the years - mostly to vegetarians and also 2 or 3 to vegans. Right on!

And of course - woo them with good food and especially baked treats. That is the most important part and you appear to be doing a great job!

Rose said...

All those peaches look so great, especially the pie :)

I'm so glad one of your babysitters is interested in going veg!

bazu said...

Oh Vicki, this post blows me away! I love peaches so much. Just like you inspired me to go cherry picking last month, I'm pretty sure you're going to be the reason I'll go peach picking too!

Cool about your babysitter becoming interested in vegetarianism. You and your family are already setting such a good example! I'd say introduce her to Vegan with a Vengeance and Vegan Cupcakes and the PPK forums- that always appeals to everybody, plus the PPK is such a supportive and non-judgmental environment. Good luck to her.

Theresa said...

I'm one of the few who doesn't like peaches, I think. I don't like apricots, either. Everyone thinks I'm weird!!

But great news about your babysitter. I encourage prospective veg*ns with baked goods! And of course, gently reminding them that eating meat means countless animals suffer, the environment suffers, and their bodies suffer. Nice movies like Peaceable Kingdom are good intros, too, I think. If they aren't into the gentle approach, it never hurts to lend them Earthlings!

Anonymous said...

I love all this fruit that you've been posting about and I'm slightly jealous (lol) - all we have here at our weekly farmer's market is watermelon. Too bad we can't scratch and sniff on the blogs - I can almost smell/taste that pie from here (lol).

Anna said...

There's few things nicer than a perfect peach. These desserts look divine! (Roll on summer. At least spring is on its way now--I saw the first blooms the other day.) Re encouraging prospective veggies--it sounds like you've already been doing everything right!

bazu said...

hi Vicki!
Just popping back to answer your question about making photo mosaics- I've become a bit addicted to them lately!

I do them here:http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php

It's really easy- you can use photos directly from your flickr account, and then upload the mosaic right back into your flickr photostream.

If you go here: http://bighugelabs.com, there are tons of other things you can do with your photos- warning, like me, you may just get addicted!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Twelve varieties og peaches....oh my!! And your cinnamon sugar peach pie looks soooo yummy. What wonderful fruit adventures you and your family have had this summer!

Isil Simsek said...

oh my peaches,peaches everywhere. luck you!

Shananigans said...

I love peaches! We're getting Michigan peaches pretty cheap here now, I've been enjoying them in my smoothies and on cereal. One of my favorite fruits for sure. That "zza" looks great! I still don't have a copy of Dolce Vegan. I should see if the library has a copy.

Way to turn your babysitter on to the veg side!