Today was Family Mass Day at my parish, so we have Hospitality (a/k/a “Fellowship” or “Coffee Hour”) after the 11:00 am service. As the Family Mass Coordinator, I have to make sure we have food, and I always bring a few things myself. I’ve made many scratch goodies for my fellow parishioners, which they appreciate.

However, I’ve been asked for exactly one recipe – for my strawberry cake. Why am I not sharing that recipe today? No, it’s not a family secret (if I was that concerned about keeping my recipes secret, why would I be here?) And it’s not so difficult to make that I wouldn’t want to torture my readers with it. No…the reason is because “my” strawberry cake is Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme cake mix prepared exactly per the directions on the box and baked in a Bundt pan! OOPS!

Every month, when I make the strawberry cake that I now have to bring for Family Mass Hospitality, I’m reminded of that little lesson in humility.

With that in mind, it seems like a good time to make something from scratch, not baked, and yummy, and peach salsa fits the bill! We’ve had some really nice peaches lately, and this is a fairly easy way to use them. It works nicely as a relish with fish, chicken, and pork – feel free to adjust the jalapeno up or down depending on your personal heat tolerance. As it is, it’s what I would consider a “medium” salsa.

Peach Salsa – serves 4 (as a relish)

3 peaches
Honey
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (if you have peach balsamic vinegar, use it)
2 tablespoons diced red onion
1 tablespoon finely diced jalapeno pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Peel and pit teaches. Brush one side of peach slices with honey. Grill until just starting to soften. While peaches are cooling, dice red onion and jalapeno. Cut peaches into 1/2 inch chunks. Mix peaches, red onion, and jalapeno with vinegar. Add salt and pepper. Transfer to plastic bowl and chill until ready to serve (around an hour or two before serving seems to work well).