I've been blessed with an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables in recent weeks — two varieties of tart cherries, kale, green beans, mulberries, strawberries. A beautiful bounty, but it all needs to be processed somehow, too, before it goes bad. Some was frozen, some was used for baking. And I put some peaches to good use in a savory chicken dish topped with chutney.

Sometimes I have visions of what to make and how to prepare it, but other times I search through recipes and glean what I want from them before making my own version. In sorting through peach chutney recipes, I found one from Martha Stewart that not only would put the gorgeous, fragrant fruits to use, but that also included dried cherries.

Well, since I had oven-dried some cherries just a few days before making this chutney, I thought this would make a perfect substitution for the more traditional raisins. So much fabulous Michigan produce in one simple condiment!

Peach-Cherry Chutney (adapted from this recipe on MarthaStewart.com)

1 tablespoon extra-light olive oil
1/8 cup minced yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon minced candied ginger
generous pinch of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon orange or cider vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons chopped dried cherries
pinch of kosher salt
3 peaches, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add onion, ginger, and red pepper flakes; cook for 1-2 minutes until onion softens. Add vinegar, sugar, cherries, and salt; cook 1 minute or so until mixture is syrupy. Add the peaches and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring often, until peaches soften; mash them a bit with a fork to thicken the chutney.

Let cool, then serve warm or chilled with chicken or pork.

Makes 3/4 cup.

Mary Bilyeu - a self-proclaimed Food Floozie (named for her blog, which is taking a summer vacation) - writes for AnnArbor.com on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, telling about her adventures in the kitchen. She is also on a mission to find great deals for her Frugal Floozie Friday posts, seeking fabulous food at restaurants on the limited budget of only $5 per person. Feel free to email her with questions, comments, or suggestions: yentamary@gmail.com.

The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured in this post) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers - when you come to visit here, may you always be happy.