I love eating fruits and veggies that are in-season. Not only is it easier on my wallet, but the taste difference is incredible. Nothing can quite match it.

So, each week this summer, I've challenged myself to try one in-season produce item I've never worked with before. Trying to slowly expand my repertoire, and reawlly learn each ingredients, I think this one-at-a-time apporach is a great way to start. So far, this week has been a peach. Literally!

I bought 6 lovely white peaches, and have begun my experiment. Almost giddy with excitement, I decided to try my hand at a summer fruit salsa. This was such a hit, I am still grinning!! Even my FIL (born in Mexico) loved it. That was truly a shocker. Super kid friendly, too - this isn't very spicy but packs tons of flavor (and vitamins, too).

That only used half the bag of peaches I had bought, so with another three lovely peaches to create with, I made a batch of bars last night, since it was finally cool enough for me to bake.

The bars are filled with diced peaches and topped with sliced, toasted almonds. It appears I have a new favorite, Summer Peach and Almond Bars. And I bought a few more peaches today, since I had done so well with the first batch. And the price of the peaches is plummeting (down to $.50 per lb.). At that rate, I'll have a plethora of peach presentations to pass along.

Next stop on my peachy-path: Ginger Poached Peaches. All of 4 ingredients will go into this creation - I'm modelling this creation on the cinnamon apples recipe a couponing friend shared with me.

All I have to do is figured out how to properly freeze them - then I'll be enjoying luscious peaches all year long. Bellini, anyone?