Appetizing Aperture: Watsonia Farms Peaches

                                                                    Credit: Jack Deese

There’s no better season than peach season at Watsonia Farms! Here peaches are the main crop and cover 900 acres on the farm located in Monetta, S.C. If your summer road trips take you to Monetta or Gilbert, S.C., stop by the Watsonia Farm store. Not to fret you Georgia peach lovers, you can grab a handful of Watsonia Farms peaches at local farmers markets like the Peachtree Road Farmers Market. 

What’s New on Pinterest: Refreshingly Fruity

Watsonia Farms organic strawberries are rosy and ready at local farmers markets. Blueberries, blackberries and watermelons want to go home with you, and before you know it, peach season will be here! Our Refreshingly Fruity Pinterest board provides incentive to plan, pick and prepare these summery gems!

Pick Up Watsonia Farms Peaches Through Labor Day

Beat those back to school blues by staying peachy with mouthwatering produce from Watsonia Farms. Their organically grown and conventional peaches are available at Atlanta-area farmers markets through Labor Day. Stock up on these orbs of summertime awesomeness and carry the warm season well into winter. The Monetta, S.C. farm offers plenty of ideas to make the most of your treasure. Try your hand at canning and preserving peach jam, conserve, honey, relish or marmalade or put up some peach pickles. Watsonia Farms suggests checking this link for how-tos. If you’ve already snapped up a basket too many and they’re trending overripe, turn them into peach pie or cobbler, smoothies, puréed baby food or add to bread, muffins or pancakes. Try adding some to chicken stock with balsamic vinegar for a piquant meat glaze or sauce. Tuck away a few freezer bags of peach slices – you’ll be so glad you did when winter’s gray days are here. 

Appetizing Aperture: Picture Perfect Watsonia Peaches

Summer time is the right time for peaches, and these little beauties are as photogenic as can be. This photo from Watsonia Farms, our neighbors just across the border in South Carolina, has us chomping at the bit to get to those pits. Be sure to check out our Peachy Keen Pinterest board for some sweet ideas for your next batch of Watsonia peaches!

Peachy Top of "the Ridge" View Gives Watsonia Farms Peaches the Best Flavor

 

Whole-y terroir? The unique combination of earth and air qualities is considered when growing the best grapes for wine production, and it also has a place in peach orchard selection. Watsonia Farms rolls across an elevated terrain affectionately called "the Ridge" by local farmers. The agricultural region rises up along the Savannah River north of Augusta and spreads eastward along the fall line from the piedmont of upstate South Carolina to the coastal plain. Perhaps Joe H. Watson had a peachy premonition about the land when, back in 1918, he purchased the first parcel of what would be Watsonia Farms and began planting peaches in 1925. Sweet nectar. Today, Joe's great-grandson Jeph Watson continues the peach orchard tradition along "the Ridge." The peach buzz is that the four counties spanning this area of South Carolina produce more peaches than the entire Peach State of Georgia! If you're traveling through the South Carolina midlands, stop in at one of Watsonia Farms' two stores for farm-fresh fruit, produce and fruit products.

The Best Fourth of July Celebrations are in Atlanta

Travel plans won’t be necessary this Independence Day because patriotic parties are taking over ATL. Spirited cocktails, festive foods and rooftop celebrations will make this Fourth of July unforgettable!

Atlanta has everything patrons need to pregame the holiday. At Atkins Park Restaurant & Bar in Virginia Highland, a live band and bubbling brews will keep everyone entertained the night before the Fourth. Come back the next day for the restaurant’s Sixth Annual Go Whole Hog or Go Home Fourth of July Party, where $15 feeds guests a meat-and-three meal for lunch or dinner. Stick around for Backyard Beer Olympics beginning at 3 p.m. Watch the action or sign up with a partner for some friendly competition that could win the team $500. Woodfire Grill is also starting the party on July 3 with a “BBQ & Beer” party to benefit the “Save the Hooch” campaign. Gobble down on a barbecue feast full of Southern classics like skillet cornbread and peach cobbler for $38.

Speaking of peaches, the Fourth of July is the perfect day to bite into a juicy, organic peach from Watsonia Farms. Add it to homemade cobbler or top with ice-cream for a tasty dessert after grilling up free-range beef and poultry from White Oak Pastures. What’s more American than that? Well, John Wayne charcoals and rubs from Fire & Flavor! The all-natural, gluten-free line adds authentic flavor to any meat.

Looking to spend the holiday dining on good-ole-American grub? Plenty of Atlanta restaurants are serving dishes to keep guests full during the festivities. No. 246 in Decatur is serving an all-day lunch menu with cocktail specials guests can enjoy while playing backyard ping-pong. For the early risers, say “good morning” to America and the Peachtree Road Race runners at Olmsted. They’ll be open at 7 a.m. and are serving up an a la carte menu along with endless mimosas and bloody marys for $14.

If plans are already set in stone, Marlow's Tavern, Gunshow and Bantam + Biddy will make satisfying those food cravings easy. Pick up a family food pack from Bantam+Biddy with options like pork loin or rotisserie chicken. It's served with salad, jalepeno cheddar bread, three sides and sweet tea. This take-out-only package feeds 3 to 5 people and is just $42. Gunshow is also putting together packages for patriotic folks on the go, with Southern classics like pulled pork, coleslaw, Brunswick stew and fresh baked cookies. Order in advance and pick ‘em up on July 4 for $50, it feeds four! If the gang will be out of town for the Fourth, stop by Marlow’s Tavern later in the month. They're celebrating more than a day of America with a “Red, White and Brew” menu from June 18 through July 29. Is the term “grill master” a common phrase in your household? If so, be sure to enter the Fourth Annual Marlow’s Grilling Recipe Contest for a chance to win awesome prizes.

It'll be nothing short of a party when the sun goes down at Ventanas, SkyLounge and Game-X. Ventanas is teaming up with Q100 for a night of music, food and dazzling drinks. A $26 ticket will grant access, food and a $10 play card to use at Game-X. Play away and snack on finger foods at Game-X before heading downtown to enjoy the fireworks from the heights of the Skyview Atlanta Ferris Wheel. If you love the view from up top, then check out the party at SkyLounge in the Glenn Hotel. The rooftop is the ideal spot to watch the fireworks from Centennial Olympic Park!

It's Peach (Daiquiri) Season

Planning a little get-together for the 3-day weekend? We have the perfect drink! Celebrate peach season with a delicious peach daiquiri using organic peaches from Watsonia Farms (because they are the first to have them!). Get them at your local farmers market and use this recipe courtesy of Rebecca Lang's  book “Quick-Fix Southern,”  You'll probably want to get enough for two batches!

“Quick-Fix Southern” Peach Daiquiris

Serves 4 to 6

6 medium peaches or 3 cups frozen peaches, thawed

1/2 cup peach nectar

4 1/2 cups ice

1/2 to 3/4 cup rum

Peel and coarsely chop the peaches and place them in a blender. Add about two tablespoons of nectar. Blend until the peaches are completely puréed.

Add the ice and blend until all of it is crushed. Add the remaining six tablespoons of nectar and the rum and blend to mix. Serve in large wine glasses.

Appetizing Aperture

There's nothing like biting into a field-fresh strawberry when the summer weather starts to heat up. Luckily, crates full of strawberry bliss are heading out from Watsonia Farms in Monetta, S.C. and are bursting with the refreshingly sweet flavor that only certified organic berries can yield. Organic farming forerunner Watsonia bears organic certification from Clemson University and the USDA, so you can rest easy about bringing these little beauties to the table.