To Grill A Peach...

It was way too early in the season for peaches, but there they were, grinning at me from their bin at the produce store. They were small, and I vowed to forsake them if they were as hard and unripe as I expected them to be but they were not...the flesh yielded to a gentle poke in a way that hinted at ripeness and so, into the bag they dropped.

Once home they lingered in the fruit basket for a while as I couldn't decide just what to do with them. I hadn't purchased quite enough for a cobbler or a pie, we'd already made muffins for the week, scones...I wasn't in the scone making zone so...they waited.

Until...after church last Sunday when the girls and I in an effort to stay occupied until our men returned from their mission trip decided to venture into some of our favorite territory which Molly has named, "The Turfff". The Turfff lies perfectly situated between our favorite Barnes & Noble and a huge R.E.I. store and a Panera Bread which boasts umbrella covered tables on its front porch.

Our family has spent MANY an hour relaxing and resting after killer bookstore shopping sessions on The Turfff while sipping fruit flavored tea from Panera. Sunday was no different, except that we were missing our men AND except that because I'd driven, I'd forgotten to take a book to enjoy while the girls played AND except that we'd forgotten to bring a ball for the girls to play with. Other than that, things were EXACTLY the same.

Happily, a book and a ball were purchased with ease and Turfff time was thoroughly enjoyed.

We decided against eating dinner out, choosing to save our nickels and dimes for other endeavors and Kate decided a cookout on our porch was in order and single-handedly made the thirteen trips from kitchen to porch to make our little al fresco meal happen. I tossed some burgers together and looked about quickly for something sweet to fit our evening's outdoor theme.

Those peaches waiting patiently in the fruit basket would be just the thing. Here's what we did with them.

What you'll need:

Peaches, halved and pitted

1/4 c butter, melted

Whipped cream, Cool Whip or Homemade

1/4-1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Here's what to do:

Brush peaches with butter on both sides.

With tongs, place peaches cut side down on a hot grill.

 (Just before you are finished eating your hot dogs or burgers.) Grill peaches for 4-5 minutes on each side with the grill lid closed.

While the peaches are grilling or completely ahead of time for that matter, add the almond extract to the whipped cream stirring gently. Even if you are not a huge fan of almond, I think you should give this a try because that almond flavor goes so wonderfully with the peaches and the cream.

After the peaches have been grilled on both sides, carefully remove them to serving places and, before they have a chance to cool, top them with generous spoonfuls of the almond flavored whipped cream.

The grilled peaches were the perfect ending of our day. 

Our men were far away, we missed them more than a little, and our peaches were not fully ripened...

...however,

we played on The Turfff, we cooked out on the porch, and we had dessert topped with whipped cream which was not the only thing about our evening that boasted a comforting sweetness.