9:02 am, on Saturday morning, my awesome friend and I arrived at Kimmel Orchard. All week I’d been talking about peach and bubblegum plum (awesomeness that taste like a cross between a plum, an apple, and a piece of childhood pink bubblegum) picking. We arrived at the U-Pick barn and to our dismay it was still locked – picking was to start at 9:00. So we waited a few minutes with a lovely older lady and her daughter about 2 minutes later the barn was unlocked and we were on our way. Kimmel Orchard calls their picking program “U-Pick”; “U-Pick” cost $2, which gives you access to pick your own fruit as well as a hay rack ride. After our $2 admission, we loaded up and were on our way. The orchard was beyond beautiful – I could stay out there forever. The peaches were ripe, big, and plenty, and of course lots of photo opts!!! Now the bubblegum plums must either be popular or everyone wanted to try something so different and awesome – I can’t blame them, because there weren’t many to pick. However, the ones left, although small, were still beautiful, ripe, and delicious. After picking, we rode back to the barn to pay. Now I know what you’re thinking, picking your own fruit must come at a premium, and NOPE! you’re wrong. Peaches and plums were only $1.80 per pound and blackberries were available for $3.98 per pound.
After picking, we headed to the store for wine tasting. $5 gets you four tastings and a keepsake wine glass branded by Kimmel Orchard – my type of party!!! We agreed that our favorite was the Kimmel reserve ($20 per bottle) but you must try the apple pie and cherry wine – just to say you did it.
U-pick is a go! But I will say if you plan on picking, arrive early to beat the crowds and get the best fruit. I first enjoyed the orchard back in May for the strawberry festival, I arrived only an hour after opening and the pickings were slim. Clearly I enjoyed it and I will continue to return to Kimmel – apple picking is next!
I know you are all here to enjoy the food so this is what I did to those wonderful peaches I picked:
I took a short stack and topped them with a peach, pecan, and Hennessey syrup. & Because I can’t leave well enough alone I made peach butter. Listen – FOOD PORN!!! Now this is simply a method and not really a recipe so I’ll tell you how I did it. Start off with basic pancakes. Doesn’t have to be anything special but just make sure they are good and fluffy. For the syrup I melted butter in a small sauce pan and added; brown sugar, a little nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon, some salt, a small splash of vanilla. Let it cook until melted and combined together. Once that was done, I added a shot of Hennessy and set it on fire. Please, please, please be careful when flambéing anything (that’s the set it on fire part). When you flambé, let it burn like Usher (okay, I’m sorry that was corny but I laughed) but seriously, you need to burn out all the alcohol. You want the flavor, not the actual alcohol – I mean maybe you do but not in this dish. Throw in a handful of chopped pecans and it’s that easy.
Peach butter is truly a method and I’ll probably never give you a recipe for my breakfast butters because it’s so easy. 3 ingredients; room temperature BUTTER- real butter, powder sugar, and finely chopped peaches. You just mix it and set aside. Use this method to make any butter you’d like (lemon butter is my fav – use the zest).
Pour the syrup on the pancakes and top with a huge dollop of butter and ENJOY ALL THINGS!