Peach Perfect
— By Larry Scherwitz —
This summer, Deborah and I have had the pleasure of being farm-to-table foodies. For months, we’ve been enjoying fare from our own organic garden just a few feet from the farmhouse my grandmother lived in while I was growing up.
Rust-colored sandstorms, hail the size of tennis balls, 30+ mile-an-hour winds, and 3-digit temperatures make growing vegetables and fruit on the family farm no easy feat. Add drought conditions to the other challenges and you’ll understand how thrilled I was when the seedlings I had started under grow lights, thrived.
Trip to Bountiful
The voluptuous squash, much of which I canned, fed us for weeks. Okra became the staple of multi-veggie gumbos. I pickled cucumbers, onions, and potatoes (yes, potatoes can be pickled!). Black-eyed peas contributed to our weekly “bean brew.” And the elephant garlic was part of almost every dish.
Then there were the watermelons and cantaloupes—enjoyed fresh-picked from the field. My good friend, Tony, who lives in San Francisco—has such exquisite childhood memories of growing up in the Midwest, with access to flavor-filled fresh watermelons each summer—he asked me to mail him one of my watermelons. And I did. Overnight delivery, of course. His opinion: 10 on texture; 7.5 on taste. For me, there are no words to describe the soul-filled satisfaction I feel when I simply see my home-grown watermelons.
Peach Perfect
Of all the summer bounty, though, the unexpected and stunning harvest of vibrant peaches was the biggest surprise. A few years back, my brothers had planted six Rancher peach trees in the middle of nowhere on the farm. The reason for such an isolated site? The less that hovered near the peach trees, the more likely they’d be spared from predators, such as bugs, birds, and animals.
My brothers were spot-on about where they planted the exquisite peach trees I typically harvested at dusk. Here’s a spontaneous email from our friend, Charles, about the peaches we gave him when he visited us at the farm:
The peaches were the best I ever put in my mouth. They were pure fragrance, and a complex aroma to accompany the taste. Thanks again for your generosity in sharing them with me. More peaches please!!!!
Pure, juicy, and flavor-filled only hint at the abundant peach-perfect harvest. Organic peach ice cream, dried peaches, and cobbler are a sampling of some of the dishes I created from our bounty. And I canned what we couldn’t use immediately so we can enjoy our peachy summer throughout the year.
One of the peach-perfect Rancher Peach trees on our family farm
Confessions of Fresh-Food Foodies
Our commitment to, and preference for farm-fresh food is, in large part, a personal backlash against often-tasteless, chemical-laden cuisine replete with pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, hormones, genetically modified organisms, and more recently, obesogens—plastic particles that have made their way into much of our food supply and beverages that seem to be key players in Americans’ growing girth.
We favor organically grown, farm-fresh fare because it yields taste-filled, healthier (translation: nutrient-dense food), high-quality meals whether they are plant-based (fruits, veggies, whole grains, legumes, and nuts and seeds) or animal foods (grass-fed, free-range poultry and meat; wild fish; and additive-free dairy, such as milk, cheese, eggs, etc.
Simply stated, our most-of-the-time way of eating depends on extremely fresh ingredients that have been modified as little as possible from what nature intended. Eating this way brings a smile to body, mind, and soul…and palate.
Next post:
Think outside the diet to make weight loss last with “Moonlight Meal Memory” posted on our next FreshFoodFables blog.
You’ll get plenty of clarity about what’s true and useful—or not—by keeping up with nutritionist Deborah Kesten, MPH, and research scientist Larry Scherwitz, PhD, the writers of this post, by following them on Twitter, liking them on Facebook, or sending us an email.
Have you had your own “peach perfect” moment with fresh, farm-grown food? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
