Spring brings more daylight, warmer weather and the start of barbeque season! One of my favorite things to do is enjoy my backyard and grill outside.When I was younger, my favorite time of year used to be the fall.Growing up in Missouri, I have to say that I love all of the seasons, really.But as I get older, there is something about spring that makes it my new favorite season.I can’t help but be filled with new hope and promise with the appearance of daffodils, crocuses and trees budding and blooming everywhere.

If you have a man in your life who normally doesn’t cook, grilling is the perfect way to get them involved.There’s something about men and fire!I have an image of Tim Allen in my head from the 90’s series Home Improvement, hearing his signature, “Oh, Oh, Oh – Ar, Ar, Ar,” Neanderthal noises any time he was around a tool or machinery!

You’ll find out that I am all about enjoying good food! This last weekend we saw some friends who for dessert served hot blueberry and peach pies topped with vanilla ice cream. They purchased the pies from a Presbyterian Women’s group.Wow, were they good.

Having what I call, The Freedom to Eat, is all about not dieting anymore, being healthy and being able to enjoy things like hot blueberry pie and peach pie with ice cream – without guilt! Now you can’t have desserts like this every day, but you can have some tasty alternatives that won’t pack on the calories.In the future, I’ll be sharing a lot of my recipes for fast, healthy food.I’m also always looking for great new wines to try.Wine to me is like art.There is so much creativity, love and care that goes into making it.So, if you have any fabulous wines that you love, please respond in the comment section.

With the start of grilling season, here’s a great peach pie recipe without the crust and the labor. I’m basing this recipe on two servings.You can just increase the ingredients to fit.

Ingredients:

Large peaches, not overly ripe – about the size of a baseball.

Each peach will represent two servings.

Vanilla (half a cap full per half peach)

Brown sugar or brown Sugar Twin (my husband really dislikes artificial sweeteners, but he can’t taste the difference with the Sugar Twin – I use the Sugar Twin)

Triple Sec Liquor.

Cut the peaches in half, discard the pit and put them on a dish pit side face up.

Sprinkle brown sugar on top of the peach.½-1 teaspoon is all that you need. Pour half a cap full of vanilla on top of the peach.Pour 1-2 teaspoons of Triple Sec on top of the peach.You can do this ahead of dinner so that the flavors will marinate a little bit.If the liquid runs down the sides, that’s great.

These will go on the grill.Put the pit side down and pour the remainder of any liquid on the top of the peach.Grill between two and three minutes per side until soft. Serve pit side up with your favorite vanilla ice cream.You can even use light or sugar free ice cream if you wish.It tastes just like a peach pie or cobbler.The Triple Sec and brown sugar cause a glaze that really brings out the flavor of the peach. Enjoy!

If you want to learn more about my book, The Freedom to Eat, you can receive the first two chapters for free.