Alton Brown has beaten me to the punch. Again.

Our Saturday Farmers' Market is hitting full stride, a downtown Stevenson cornucopia of local fruits and vegetables, as well as homemade salsa, zucchini relish, alpaca yarn and wooden furniture. Don't forget the worm tea --- which I managed to do in the recesses of the van, resting comfortably in its recycled pop bottle. It will likely still be useful to juice up our drooping hanging baskets. One score this weekend was six huge, juicy Maryhill peaches. They are one of the wonders of the eastern Columbia Gorge. A windsurfing beach nestled among the orchards near Maryhill Museum and Maryhill Winery is called Peach Beach. A few years ago as I drove S.R. 14 near Lyle, I discovered I was following a truck laden with apple boxes of Maryhill peaches, which looked so succulent that I flagged down the driver, had him pull over, and bought a box on the spot. I canned them, and won a blue ribbon at the fair with a jar. These dark, dusky and musky Maryhill beauties were among the provender offered by the market organizer, Gorge Grown, which brings a truck to various locations each week from local farms to augment the farmers' booths. The three varieties of Gorge Grown cherries also looked good, but we had recently bought a couple of bags of cherries. I made a cherry crisp, and we froze about a quart of Lamberts, seeded and waiting for inspiration. My scores this weekend also included some firm stalks of rhubarb. As Mom left for church, I plotted our Sunday dinner. Roast chicken, of course, a breast and a few thighs scattered with garlic and herbs and baked low and slow with a scalloped potato/vegetable casserole. The capper? A peach-rhubarb cobbler/upside down cake. Because actual cobbler requires cutting butter or some other solid fat into the flour, which is verboten on Mom's low-fat diet, I do a hybrid involving Heart Smart Bisquick augmented by buttermilk, Eggbeaters, xylitol, a little whole wheat flour and cinnamon. It is denser than a cake batter, and the low and slow baking temperature, which wavered between 300-325, is perfect for that consistency. I cut up the peaches, leaving on the skin. In a saucepan, I added a little agave syrup and 1/4 cup of xylitol to a half cup of lightly salted water, then chunked up four stalks of rhubarb and simmered the mixture, adding a little Minute Tapioca the last couple of minutes. The half-cooked rhubarb was then poured over the peaches, which had been sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg. The batter was spooned over the top and sprinkled with a little more cinnamon. The dessert was stupendously good. I hadn't heard of that combination and thought I may have invented something, but an Internet foray revealed several recipes for peach-rhubarb cobblers and crisps, with Alton Brown's at the top of the search. Earlier this morning, I turned on "Good Eats" and saw a segment on melons. There was Alton, beating me to the punch again. Earlier this week I had turned a perfectly sweet and juicy watermelon with a mushy heart into sorbet in my ice cream maker, adding only a little xylitol and agave syrup to the blender. The "Good Eats" segment included a tip or two on making watermelon sorbet. Yes, Alton --- I promise to add the fruit slurry only while the machine is running after this. However, I have come up with my own ice cream-making secret. I have started placing one of those large frozen gel packs used in coolers in a gallon freezer bag over the top opening of the machine. The mixture seems to freeze faster and more uniformly. So there, Alton.