pounds and pounds of peaches

We finally got around to it yesterday morning. I and my four youngest siblings piled into the station wagon and drove up to Brecknock Orchards in Mohnton-- it was high time to get us some peaches. The trees were lush, the morning was beautiful. Wanna know how many pounds we picked? Just in one hour?

Three. Hundred. And. Sixty. Five.

Now, keep in mind that we were also picking for other people, so approximately 175 pounds went to various friends and family. We joked that we should start charging interest. :)

But still.

That leaves me with 190 pounds of peaches on the kitchen counter. (And floor.)

I'm freezing like mad: washing, slicing in thin wedges, and laying them out on parchment-lined cookie sheets. I do a few layers and then stick the whole lot in the freezer. Five or six hours later, they are ready to pop into quart bags. If they don't get horrible freezer burn, we should have sliced peaches for smoothies, cobblers, fruit salads, and compotes all winter. And yes, I think that the two of us will eat them all! If it turns out to be too much for our freezer, we'll pawn them off on somebody else, but everything that stays in our house will, in all likelihood, be consumed. We love peaches.

{image credit: Scott Everett}