Good morning, everyone!

It's a slow morning at my house, as I putter around straightening and cleaning and sipping coffee (Rich French Neighbor - an EXCEPTIONAL brew from one of Ann Arbor's many sources of pride and joy, Roos Roast). In meandering around the kitchen, I found that the two peaches I'd tucked into a paper bag to ripen a bit more were in supremely perfect condition ... what to do, what to do??? Devour them "as is?" Make a small batch of jam? That is an amazingly satisfying project, even in small quantities, but it's also bittersweet for me.

When my ex-husband and I separated in 2006 and Jeremy would spend weekends with him, I distracted myself from loneliness - Jeremy is an only child - by going to the Farmers' Market and buying 10-pounds boxes of fruit, followed by hauling out the canning equipment and devoting the day to making numerous varieties of jam. I made such an enormous quantity that summer that it took me nearly 2 years to use up and give away the supply. But I digress ....

I looked up my cooking contest site -- contestcooking.com, which offers a mind-boggling multitude of options -- to see if there was anything intriguing to aim a few ideas towards ... and there was: the Bays English Muffins quarterly recipe contest, seeking "Peachy Keen" dishes. This is a work in progress, as I'm not quite sure yet what sort of concoction I will make with the requisite English muffin and the necessary peach ... sandwich, open-faced or not? ham? bacon? shredded pork? eggs? Parmigiano? some sort of savory trifle with English muffin cubes? vegetarian with Morningstar Farms products??? But here is the beginning phase: Spiced BBQ Peach Sauce, which took maybe 10 minutes to make as I caffeinated ... it couldn't be easier, and will undoubtedly have many other uses. (Serve with grilled chicken? Pour over a pork roast and cook it slowly all day long in one of my 3 crockpots? Sigh ....)

Peaches are now available at the Farmers Market. (Yeah, you can get them at Kroger too, but why???) Go shop, go cook, be happy and share the joy! And if you make this and come up with a great way to eat it, be sure to let me know ....

Spiced BBQ Peach Sauce

2 peaches, unpeeled, cut into 1/2" dice 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 cup favorite BBQ sauce

Combine the peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 7-8 minutes over medium heat. Mash the peaches a bit and continue to cook for 5 more minutes, mashing periodically until most of the peach cubes are unrecognizable but there are still bits of fruit visible. Stir in the BBQ sauce and cook until the sauce bubbles. Place into a jar and refrigerate.

Makes not quite a cup of sauce.

The stone pictured at the top of this post was a gift from a very dear friend who took a recent trip to Israel. The Hebrew lettering is a verse from Deuteronomy 16:15 -- “You Should Always Be Happy.” As explained in my very first post, that seemed a fitting sentiment for a blog about passion for food!