Monday, September 4, 2023

September Joys: Peaches, Tomatoes and Football!



A beautiful sky over the foothills near Boulder, Colorado

Happy September! 

Colorado experiences an early autumn due to its high elevation, however, there are still a few weeks of summer remaining to enjoy.




One of the joys at this time of the year is Palisade Peaches from the western slope of Colorado. They are juicy and sweet freestone peaches and every year I look forward to them. Last year our daughter had a business trip to Palisade and purchased a box of peaches for us.  I made many delicious dishes with them which you can see on this post.  

This year, our oldest grandson entered high school and his school orchestra has a fundraiser where Palisade Peaches, and honey from peach grove bee hives, could be purchased.  We bought 20 pounds of peaches and a jar of honey-- both so wonderful!




I recently made a lifestyle change to eat a low carbohydrate diet from now on--see why on this post--but, happily, peaches are one of the healthier fruits that I can consume in moderation.  The first meal I made was a Tomato Peach Fig and Burrata Salad, with arugula, basil, and prosciutto added and a balsamic glaze on top.  We enjoyed it on our deck as we watched the sunset.   It was the perfect meal for a warm evening!




This year I tried a Peach Quick Bread recipe from the blog "Sally's Baking Recipes" for my husband.  It was delicious!  It had a cinnamon crumb topping and as well as cinnamon-swirled peaches inside the cake's interior.  




I had less success with attempting a low-carb version of a peach loaf using almond flour, coconut flour, and monk fruit sugar substitute. It did not rise too high despite having both baking powder and baking soda added. It may have been because of my area's high elevation as I live at 6,200 feet (1889.76 meters) and baking is often a challenge here.  It did taste good, and I hope to get better at baking with substitutions so that I can also enjoy some low-carb treats. Does anyone have any low-carb baking hints for me?





A savory dinner with peaches was this one called Balsamic Peach Pork Chops with Blue Cheese from the blog "Closet Cooking."  

It was fabulous!




I used extra peaches since I had more pork chops than the recipe called for. I doubled the recipe and served them separately so I could regulate my portion size. 

Additionally, I still have an abundance of zucchini and zucchini blossoms growing in my garden this September, so I made zucchini fritters for my husband to enjoy.



As far as gardens go, a disaster hit my patio tomato plants!

 If you look at the collage above you can see the photo in the lower left corner of my plants a week ago. I was picking many red tomatoes every day, as you can see by the basket of ripe ones. I came out this week to find that a deer somehow squeezed past the chicken wire fence around my plants and ate all the tops and tomatoes it could reach!  AGH!!!  I lost so many tomatoes.  Knowing it would probably come back I pulled all the remaining tomatoes and will allow them to ripen inside by a window.  The season for tomatoes was coming to an end, but it was sad to lose so many.

Finally, another September joy is watching our oldest grandson play football on his high school freshman team. It is nice to see the team learn sportsmanship and for them to be kept busy in the afternoons after school with practices.  He also hopes to play lacrosse in the spring.



Fall's here soon. Let's enjoy these last days of summer!


You can also find me on


27 comments:

Donna Reidland said...

We've had some wonderful peaches this year, too, which has made me very happy!

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

Beautiful view and photo. All the peach dishes sound yummy. I would love to try the salad! The Peach quick bread looks and sound delicious too. Sorry about your tomatoes. Take care, have a happy day and a great new week!

ellen b. said...

Those chops and peaches recipe looks great. Peaches and honey, what a great fundraiser instead of chocolate! Love that. That's fun to be able to go to your grandson's football games. Happy Labor day!

Billy Blue Eyes said...

Some delicious looking food shown there, makes my mouth water

Lydia C. Lee said...

THe peaches! Yum!!! #Seniorsalonpitstop

stevebethere said...

All that food looks delicious i do love peaches too hope you saved me some heheh! :-)

Have a peachtastic week 👍

The Joy of Home with Martha Ellen said...

Boy do those peaches look delicious as well as all of your dishes, Pat! If you visit https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/ Jan features some lovely low carb dishes. Your poor tomato plant! It's lovely you can watch your grands sports events. Lovely photos as alway, Pat!

NCSue said...

Everything looks lusckous! Great peach pix!
Thank you for sharing at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2023/09/some-capital-photos.html

Slabs said...

ALl those peaches, drooling now.
I visited you via Happiness Is Homemade Link Party
I linked up this week with = 31+32. This is a friendly reminder and invitation to come and join us at SeniorSalonPitStop. You will find the linkup information under BLOGGING

Jeanie said...

i adore peaches and have been buying them like a crazy lady. I always think I'm going to make wonderful recipes like these -- but I can't stop eating them whole!

Life Images by Jill, Western Australia said...

I love peaches and look forward to them every summer. Do you make jam with them? The other recipes look yummy. Have agreat week. I am joining you at Through my Lens.

Rambling Woods said...

I love peaches and all those recipes look delicious…Michelle

Tom said...

...peaces are a sweet late summer treat!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Ooof -- you've showed us the sweet deer in your yard before -- they can be a joy, but wow a sorrow also when you're a gardener; that really hurts to lose all those perfect tomatoes. I remember your peaches post from last year and these ones look just as yummy. (I remember those peaches too from back when we often visited Colorado in the Fall. They really are perfect.)

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

Such varied ways to prepare peach dishes. Too bad about the deer attack. I remember helping my grandmother harvest all the unripe tomatoes before the first frost.

Spare Parts and Pics said...

I love watching school sports. This is a favorite time of year, with all the football watching available. Great that your grandson is on the team!

Jocelyn said...

Lovely pictures.

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Fabulous food - funny I never thought of peaches growing in Colorado. I'm so silly. I think of snow and skiing, but that doesn't mean you can't grow lots of things.

Lowcarb team member said...

I think you are doing so well with your low carb lifestyle.
It is true low carb flours do react differently, and I'm sure you will find recipes that suit you.

Enjoy your September days.

All the best Jan

Heidrun said...

We love to eat peaches too. It's the fruit of the Summer. But we get only some with stone.

Thank you so much for sharing this delicious Post. I enjoyed reading.

Hugs by Heidrun

Photo Cache said...

Tomatoes are becoming my faves.

Worth a Thousand Words

Joanne said...

That peach salad looks amazing! There is nothing quite as good as freshly ripened peaches.

Light and Voices said...

Peaches and honey photographs and new diet equals a healthier you. Go for it! Every weekend I enjoy scrolling down and seeing what is going on in your life and the photographs are always Top Notch!

William Kendall said...

The food looks good!

csuhpat1 said...

The peaches and tomatoes look mighty good. Thanks for sharing them with us.

Veronica Lee said...

The food looks amazing 😋
I absolutely love peaches.

Hugs and blessings, Pat

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

Peaches are some of my favorite fruits. The flavor just explodes and they can be so juicy. You came up with some good recipes to use them.

Your tomatoes you lost to the deer went to a good cause. Still best to pull the rest like you did and let them ripen inside.

Sports and other extracurricular activities are good for kids. Kudos to you for supporting him.

We have to make the best of the remaining days before it gets cold. Tulsa has a really long autumn, it goes clear to Thanksgiving and beyond. I love the cool dry days with warm afternoons.