Have you ever heard the term ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’? Well, my mother, Neeners, very cleverly created a situation where it was necessary to invent something to take care of the flat of peaches she could not resist buying. “My God, those things were beautiful…so I had to buy the whole flat and now I want you to take some – NOT ALL – and do something creative”. So…there I was with a few big, and yes beautiful peaches, but not enough for her favorite peach crisp. What to do? So being the non-genius that I am, I looked around the kitchen. There, staring me right in the face, was a bowl of nectarines that I just had to have. (I guess the nut doesn’t fall too far from the tree). The result is this Peach & Nectarine Crisp. Sweet, but not too sweet, with just a hint of tartness from the nectarines, plus just the faintest whisper of cinnamon.
The perfect crisp is in the eye of the beholder. Some absolutely must have oatmeal in their crisps, while others insist on nuts. I prefer neither, but go after that rich, buttery and slightly crispy crust with fruit juices oozing through around the edges. Nirvana. If you prefer oats in your version, go ahead and replace half of the flour with them. All of you nut fans out there – add a cup chopped nuts to the topping mixture. What the heck? Do both if you like. After all, this is now your recipe….
I ended up splitting the recipe, so Neeners could have half and we could have the rest. I awaited her call…” Hello, this is your mother speaking. I am looking at a big bowl of your Crisp, but I am not eating it yet. I put a generous scoop of ice cream on top and am waiting until it melts to perfection on the top before I dive in. I will give you my review tomorrow. Goodbye”. I await her review, but in the meantime, keep reading to check out the recipe for yourself…
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I love cake. I love cherries. And now, in the height of cherry season, I can often be found lurking around the refrigerator and pulling out several handfuls of those dark red gems to stuff in my mouth when nobody is looking. The dilemma became this – is there a way to enjoy both cake and cherries without losing any of that fresh cherry goodness? I think this may just do it. The cake base resembles a pound cake (we need something heavy duty to hold up all those cherries), and for some added personality there is shredded coconut, vanilla, and almond extract. This I could eat all on its’ own and be quite happy. However, we can’t forget the cherries! The little extra work of pitting and slicing beautiful dark red cherries in half is well worth the effort. No sugar added to this layer – those berries are sweet enough all on their own. To top it off, the crumb layer has a generous amount of ground almonds that will keep you coming back for one more bite….at least I do. 
I must say that there are some things I can eat until I cannot move. This is one of them. Sweet, tart Hood Strawberries, filled with a Greek Yogurt Cheese & Strawberry Jam. Three ingredients and a little piece of heaven. How about we make some? 
I’ve always loved Lemon Bars, but lately could not get the concept of creating an Orange Bar out of my mind. I was determined to try my hand at them while citrus season is still in full swing, but the concept in my head took some trial, and many errors, before it was fit to print. I knew my first attempt didn’t quite hit the mark, but sent several over to my 87 years young mom, 
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and that spells chocolate in my book. Here’s a dessert from my blogging partner 
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Here we have the ultimate summer dessert. The one where you hide pieces of it in various places around the house, then excuse yourself for some lame reason, seek it out and go dig in. There are currently two pieces in our refrigerator and they will soon mysteriously disappear. That’s just the way it is with this dessert. You take a bite. Then another. Then add a scoop of ice cream. And when all that eating is done you might get amnesia because you got sensory overload and your mind short circuited due to food joy. With that warning in place, I say let’s get moving on making some just for you.
I made up this recipe in my head for the most part, and knew that it would have to pass muster with 
