INCORPORATING FRUIT... into everyday phrases and sayings? We humans love to sweeten up our speech with sweet references, from "apple of my eye" to "that's bananas" to "avocadon't" (okay, that one hasn't quite taken off yet, but it clearly comes in handy when a friend dons a shade of green that doesn't quite suit them). But the nicest of all the fruit sayings, and the one that fizzes with blitheness and optimism, has to be "peachy keen." After all, you're not just merely keen, but you're peachy, too, which is the cherry on top of the sundae (yet another fruit-ism). But we'd expect no less from a goodie as good as a peach, for of course it will inspire positivity and hopefulness, as easily as it inspires cooks to create cobblers and jams and cookies and the occasional sticky-glazed savory dish. If you're the sort of person who is usually peachy keen for peaches, pretty much all of the time, best make a pit stop in...
MARYSVILLE, a scoot north of Sacramento, for the Marysville Peach Festival. Yes, we did say "pit stop" there, but this festival is not the pits (and, yes, we refer to the center solidness of a peach as "the stone," and not "the pit," though both are often used interchangably). This festival is quite the opposite from the pits, since festival goers can find all manner of peach-laden lovelies, peach funnel cakes, peach scones, BBQ peach burgers, peach milkshakes, and so many other peach-ified eats and drinks. It's all blossoming on July 19 and 20, and admission is free, as is parking. And if you've got a frankly amazing peach pie or peach-based pastry? There's a contest for that (oh yes, preserves can be entered, too, oh yum). It's true that California is full of fruity festivals, but this one, pits down, has to be the peachy-keen-est.
