Stress and Peach and Brie Quesadillas

Monday is my most stressful day of the week. It's deadline day. Come 5 p.m. I'm supposed to have all of my stories turned into my editor. I've been blowing that deadline up lately. The paper goes on the presses Tuesday afternoon and I've been handing stuff in Tuesday morning.

I've resolved that this is going to stop. Blown deadlines mostly result from sources not getting back to me soon enough. This problem is further complicated by the fact that when I call on Thursday and Friday for interviews and comments, most sources are so focused on their own end-of-the-week projects that they say, "I'll get back to you Monday."

To add to my stress, I had an unexpected passenger on my daily commute this morning. A little black and white house spider (the kind that jump) popped up on my dashboard as I was driving 70 mph down MoPac expressway. I'm not sure how he got there or where he came from, but he was crawling back and forth all over the dashboard. There was nothing I could do but watch him. The traffic never slowed to the point where I could grab a piece of paper and scoop him out the window.

I drove about 20 miles with my eyes cutting back and forth from the car in front of me to the spider. Car. Spider. Car. Spider.

Yes, I know that those spiders don't really bite and if they do it's not particularly painful. I just have this thing about bugs, particularly spiders. I love spiders and I know they are beneficial hunters that eat lots of foul bugs. They just can't touch me. If they touch me, they have to die. This is just the way it has to be.

So Boris (like The Who song) and I just stared at each other until I got to work and could shoo him on his merry way. I was so wired when I got into the office, I didn't even need my usual cup of coffee. Who needs caffeine when you have abject terror?

Since the day has been a little stressful, I think I'm going to make one of my favorite dishes tonight. It makes me happy just thinking about it.

Peach and Brie Quesadillas

Ingredients:
4-5 fresh firm peaches (not squishy ripe)
Flour tortillas
1 medium sized wheel of Brie cheese
1/2 cup of honey
1/4 cup lime juice

1.Slice peaches vertically in thin slices (maybe half an inch thick)

2.Place skillet on stove top and heat to medium

3.Place flour tortilla in skillet and arrange peach slices and small chunks of Brie over surface of tortilla.

4.When Brie starts to look soft, place second tortilla on top and smoosh down into cheese.

5. After a minute, flip quesadilla over and let cook two minutes. Cheese should be gooey.

6. Remove and slice in fourths. Serve warm.

7. Repeat until you have the desired number of quesadillas.

Honey lime sauce

1. Combine honey and lime juice in a small bowl and serve as a dipping sauce.

This is a serious crowd pleaser. Enjoy!