Georgia is known as the Peach State, and if you’ve ever eaten their fresh peaches when they start coming in, you know why! They are sweet and juicy and you don’t even have to  peel them. Georgia also produces a lot of pecans, and the recipe I share today marries those two ingredients beautifully. But as with many of my recipes, this one comes with a wonderful memory as well.

After my dad died, my mother and brother came often to visit, and they could stay as long as they wanted. Mom enjoyed day trips, so one summer while she was here we drove to Atlanta for lunch. On our way out of town we stopped by the visitors center and picked up a Georgia magazine full of interesting facts about the state and places to visit.  As I drove, mother read aloud to me and, once again, she became the teacher and I the student. We learned how Georgia has mountains for climbing and hiking with enough snow in the winter to do a little skiing, rivers for white water rafting, lakes for boating and fishing and on the east you have the ocean. History is very important, and Georgia schools still teach the Civil War and how President Lincoln, as a Christmas gift, saved Savannah from destruction. As we drove we saw some beautiful southern homes with impeccable landscaping. We both knew more about Georgia now on our drive back than we had known before we started. As she turned to the last page and saw a peach bread recipe, she said it was a must for us to make it in honor of our Georgia day, using the basket of peaches we bought at a road side fruit stand. We all liked it so much she hand wrote it in family recipe book. I found that recipe again today and made this bread using fresh peaches. The bread is wonderful but the memories of that day are even more so.💕