The Ellisville Summer Life's a Peach (Smoothie)

Kamp’s Peaches from Golden Eagle, Illinois have been at the Thursday Ellisville Farmers Market for about a month now. Their orchard is located in Calhoun County, an oasis of farmland protected by the unique topography of the nearby Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Calhoun County peaches are favorites of many and a welcomed sight whenever they appear at market.

Since discovering Kamp’s Peaches and the ease with which I can peel, dice and freeze them, I have a new mission: Stay ahead of my son’s appetite for peach smoothies.

With less than $10 invested in 2 bags of “seconds”, I have frozen 24 packages of diced fresh and delicious peaches in one cup servings. I blanched the peaches for a minute in a pot of simmering water and then submerged them in ice water. This makes peeling easy and enhances the beautiful blush. I’m not sure how many peach smoothies have been consumed since I started freezing individual servings, but I’m pretty sure that I need to buy more peaches if I’m going to head into winter with any left in the freezer. 

Last week, I overheard Agnes Kamp of Kamp’s Peaches at the Ellisville Farmers Market telling someone that we probably had another 2 or 3 weeks of peaches. I will definitely be sad to see them go. The aroma of a fresh peach is heavenly and the pinkish orange blush is an exquisite sight. Peaches — bounty of summer that deserves a place at the kitchen sink along with the juicy tomato — devoured with no pretense of proper table manners, just messy, sticky, delicious fun.

Did you know that some grocery stores are now using fragrance machines to make shoppers hungrier and increase sales, particularly in the bread and produce departments?  If you come to Ellisville Farmers Market today Thursday, 4 to 7 p.m., in Bluebird Park you’ll be able to enjoy the real fragrance of freshly picked peaches, tomatoes and lots of other delectable foods. No fragrance machines necessary. Hope to see you there.