Peaches! Peachfest, Tomato Peach Gazpacho & Brown Sugar Peach Cobbler

August in Penticton means one thing, Peachfest! Ever since I was a little kid, Peachfest has always been one of my absolute favourite weeks of the year! Ninja and I even got married during Peachfest! So this year while Ninja and I celebrate our 13th year married to each other, Penticton celebrated its 76th year of Peachfest!

Looking back over the years, some of my most memorable summer moments were during Peachfest. The sweet smells of ripe peaches on the breeze while hanging on tightly while screaming on the Sizzler with my grade 8 crush, the riot after the MC Hammer concert (I didn’t take part in the riot, but my Poppy volunteered and told me all about how the hooligans broke into Colour Your World and painted downtown red, rolled the Peach down the beach, and how the beer smell permeated the air and flowed throughout the streets 😆), watching Miss Penticton wave with that perfect Princess wave and thinking that one day I would be Miss Penticton (even though I didn’t live in Penticton 🤣), watching HBear dance her heart out on the Peachfest main stage, watching SBean cartwheel down Lakeshore Drive smiling and waving to everybody as she marches through town with the Peachfest parade, dancing in a freak rainstorm with HBear, and all the laughter during annual family visits!

Just to name a few.

This year was a bit different. In my 44 years of attending Peachfest, I have always enjoyed taking in the events, the shows, the concerts, and the continuous action at multiple venues for 5 full days! This year I only attended the parade. Ninja and Dad took in a few shows, but it was our Kids that really made the most of this year’s festival! This was the first year that they were both old enough to attend with friends and really take advantage of all that Peachfest has to offer to teenagers in a resort town 😳🤪🤣.

It’s weird… But good.

Some of my favourite memories are of meeting friends down at Peachfest and taking in all of the fun! After summers of Covid and smoke filled skies, I am beyond happy that my Kids and ALL the Kids are finally getting to experience this amazing outdoor festival the way it was meant to be enjoyed, with wild abandonment, loud laughter, and maybe, hopefully even a wee little bit of mischief 😜💛.

Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #341: Life’s a Peach HERE! This week, we get together during Penticton’s Peach Festival to discuss: getting hurt, Crown Royal, eating out, Lace anniversary, Tay Tay tix, Lil Tay, Parades, aging kids, free concerts, & cover songs.

Peaches! While my Bro and PrettyP were in town, we took them, peach picking! Of course, peaches turn very quickly so once you pick them… You have to eat them! We picked a ton, so I used some of our bounty to make a new appetizer and a classic dessert! I have never had gazpacho before! In fact, the thought of cold soup kind of turned me off 😂 but this recipe looked so delicious that I had to try it! It was honestly, August in a bowl! It was bright, fresh, flavourful and unique. It was incredibly easy to make and was an absolutely delicious summer experience. Perfect to bring us into Peachfest season!

For dessert SBean made a classic Peach Cobbler that was decadent and delicious! I bought some French vanilla ice cream that was the perfect accompaniment but what really made this dessert was the Maple Butter that SBean drizzled over the fresh peach cake. Oh my God! So freaking good! And remember my 10 year old made this for all of us, so you can too!

Tomato Peach Gazpacho

Adapted from Feasting at Home

4 peaches (1/4 for garnish)
4 tomatoes (1/4 for garnish)
1/3 of an English cucumber (plus 1/4 cup for garnish)
1/4 cup white onion, sliced (plus 1/4 cup for garnish)
3/4 bell pepper (1/4 for garnish)
10 basil leaves, plus more for garnish
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
pepper to taste

Quarter the peaches and tomatoes and set aside 1 wedge of peach and 1 wedge of tomato for your garnish.

Place the remaining peaches and tomatoes in a blender. Add the onion, bell pepper, cucumber, garlic, (setting aside garnish portions) basil, olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper and vinegar.

Blend until relatively smooth. I started in my food processor and used my Nutribullet to get it really smooth.

Chill at least 2 hours.

While chilling, chop up the garnish ingredients as finely as possible. Chill as well.

To serve, ladle the cold gazpacho into a bowl, sprinkle with garnishes.

Brown Sugar Peach Cobbler
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest

1/2 cup salted butter, cubed
1 cup AP flour
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 peaches, cut into 8 wedges
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Maple Butter

4 tablespoons salted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Drop the butter into a 9×13 inch baking dish and place the dish in the oven to melt, about 10 minutes.

Stir together the flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the milk and vanilla, mix until just combined.

In a bowl, toss the peaches with 1/4 cup brown sugar and the maple syrup.

Layer half of the peaches over the melted butter. Then, pour over the batter, do not stir. Layer the remaining peaches over the batter. Bake 50-55 minutes, until the centre is just set and the edges begin to brown.

Meanwhile, mix the butter and maple together in a pan. Boil 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Serve the cobbler warm or at room temp with ice cream and maple butter drizzled on top.

Wow! What a week! I read some fantastic books, Lenny returned to his home, I sadly got waitlisted for the Taylor Swift Eras Tour AGAIN, I did yoga, SBean finished another week of gymnastics camp and Peachfest started! I read my books, took some more books out from the library, and Ninja and I celebrated our 13th anniversary! My Sis gave us beautiful flowers in the shades of our wedding colours, we found a 💙message left by my Bro, and HBear danced her last competitive dance with her hip-hop group (she is only taking 1 rec class next year 😔). Ninja’s Aunt & Uncle were in visiting from the coast, we took in the Peachfest Sandcastle Competition and had a family dinner at the Dragonboat Pub. SBean built a fort, had a sleepover with her gymnastic’s friend, and they both cartwheeled through Penticton in the Peachfest parade! My Sis joined us for the parade with her WinnipegBesty, and we loved seeing all of the floats, marching bands, and our new royalty was crowned… this year my Besty’s daughter earned the title of Miss Penticton 2023! After the parade SBean and her gymnastics friends dove directly into the lake! Ninja and my Dad took HBear to the festival on Saturday night where they watched 54-40 and won some stuffies! It was a fantastic Peachfest for all!