I’m not usually a corn-on-the-cob kind of girl. Corn is not my favorite vegetable, probably a result of too many cans of Delmonte corn growing up.

But these looked irresistible.  The stalks were a vibrant green and the green husks were fresh looking, not dried out.  The Trader Joe’s employee sold me on it, when she said:  “Local corn!”

The sign above the barrel had the magic words printed on it “Local corn from Olathe, Colorado”.

“Oh, it’s Olathe sweet corn!  I’ll definitely take some.”

“Where’s Olathe?  I don’t even know where that is.”

“It’s in western Colorado, south of Grand Junction.  And the corn is amazing!”

When we lived in Grand Junction, we went to the Olathe Corn Festival.  Something about the soil, the hot temperatures and endless days of sunshine made for the most yummy corn ever.

But the soils of the western slope don’t just bear corn, but something else irresistible.

Palisade Peaches.

I knew something must be growing in Palisade, when we first moved there in 2008.  That end of the Grand Valley was so incredibly green compared to the arid looking high desert.

Then I experienced the peach phenomenon up close and personal.

For two years, we rented a townhouse in Palisade.  Right behind us grew a peach orchard, and within a miles, there were dozens of them.  Each summer, the smell of peaches permeated our entire house.  And along with the smell came fruit flies in abundance.

Eating peaches right off the tree was one of the most savory experiences I’ve ever had.  The peaches would just burst with juice as I bit into them.  The flavor overwhelmed my taste buds.

But if you really wanted to experience all things peach, you had to attend the Peach Festival. The Peach Festival, held in mid-August, had every kind of possible peach-flavored food.  Peach pie, peach ice cream, peach cobbler, peach jam, peach crisp — and the list goes on.

By the time the festival was over, I was peached out.

Something in the soil in Palisade proved to be like Miracle Grow for produce.  We found out ourselves when a small tomato plant on the north side of the townhouse grew tomatoes.  At first, there were two or three.

Great — we’ll have fresh tomatoes for our salad.  But then more and more tomatoes caused the plant to double over with the weight of the red fruit.  Finally, we resorted to taking in large tupperware containers to work to rid ourselves of the endless supply of tomatoes.

The following summer, we tried a different variety thinking the prolific plant had been an aberration.  But cherry tomatoes sprouted like magic from the new tomato plant as well.  We were back to donating tomatoes as fast as we could pick them from the vine.

When the first freeze finally came in the fall, it was a relief to rid ourselves of the burden of picking tomatoes.

If you want to experience the yumminess of the special dirt of Palisade first hand, it’s not too late.  This year’s peach festival is next weekend.

Come prepared with a hearty appetite!

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