I'm for anything that gives me an excuse to eat.

My stomach must have been rumbling quite loudly late Friday afternoon as The Capital staff discussed our Saturday front page story on the "Buy Local Challenge," because my husband headed out to Papa John's Farm at 8065 New Cut Road in Severn without any prompting. Run by the Schillingers, the facility is open until 7 p.m. every day but Sunday (when it's open until 6 p.m.). That's great for people like me who often delay the daily dinner dilemma until the drive home from the office.

In support of Maryland's farmers, my family spent the weekend devouring local tomatoes, cantaloupe and sweet corn. What burden will our lawmakers ask of us next?

It was the dawning of the local peach season that prompted reader Pat Harford's plea for an elusive recipe.

Pat e-mailed: "My husband (Skip) is originally from Baltimore and early in our marriage told me about the famous Baltimore peach cake. At one time many years ago the Market House at the Annapolis City Dock sold them and we visited there frequently to purchase them.

"Over the years, we have searched the internet to find the recipe, but no luck. Some recipes claim they are 'the peach cake,' but they are not. The cake part is not your ordinary cake texture.

"A friend purchased one of the cakes a few years ago at a small Baltimore bakery in the inner city which was what we have been looking for, but we are still searching for the recipe. So far in our search, bakeries in the Annapolis area do not even know what we mean by 'peach cake.' "

Coincidentally, I had recently finished off a meal of spicy, steamed Maryland crabs at Gunning's Seafood Restaurant in Hanover with a big slice of "peach cake," so I described what I had eaten to Pat to see if it matched the recipe she was looking for. No such luck.

She further elaborated: "The peach cake recipe we are looking for is indeed a dense-type cake similar to pound cake, but no frosting of any kind - just sliced peaches arranged on the top with some type of perhaps peach jelly.

"I'll keep reading your column as always to see what shows up from your readers."

I hope someone out there is a "peach cake" aficionado, because I couldn't find any recipes specifically called "Baltimore Peach Cake" in the cookbooks I checked. I did find two variations online. One version used a yeast dough for the cake, while another did not.The yeast dough recipe, which has apricot preserves with the peaches, accompanied an interesting article by Mary K. Zajac from the August 2007 edition of Urbanite. You can find the article and recipe at www.urbanitebaltimore.com. Once there, search for "Baltimore Peach Cake."

Larriland Farm, located west of Columbia, offered this recipe.

BALTIMORE PEACH CAKE

• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup sugar mixed with 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 5 large peaches, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With electric mixer, blend first five ingredients. Spread in greased and floured 15-by-10-inch jelly roll pan, or 13-by-9-inch plus one 8-inch cake pan. Sprinkle half of cinnamon/sugar mixture lightly over dough base. Arrange peach slices by rows on top of base. Sprinkle with remainder of cinnamon/sugar mixture and drizzle melted butter over all. Bake for 25-30 minutes. (For thicker dough, omit 8-inch cake pan and use 13-by-9 pan only.)

I did find a peach cake using apricot preserves submitted by Amanda Warfield in "Our Favorite Recipes III," published by the North Arundel Hospital Auxiliary in Glen Burnie. Of course, NAH is now Baltimore Washington Medical Center.

PEACH CAKE

• 3 tablespoons margarine
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• Sliced peaches
• 1 tablespoon boiling water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons margarine

Topping:

• 3/4 cup* apricot preserves
• 1 tablespoon boiling water

Cream sugar and margarine until lemon-colored. Add vanilla and eggs; beat well. Mix flour, baking powder and salt; add alternately with the milk. Pour into a large, greased and floured cookie sheet. Spread peaches on top of the batter. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together; sprinkle on top of the peaches. Dot with the margarine. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Mix the preserves and boiling water together. Spread on top of the hot cake.

*The printed recipe said 3/4 apricot preserves," but cup seems logical. The amount could be easily varied based on personal preference.

Peach pie pre-order

Speaking of peaches, it's soon peach festival time, and the deadline is fast approaching for homemade pies from the good folks at Davidsonville United Methodist Church.

For your convenience, you can order their homemade peach pies in advance. Pies are $12 each and can be ordered baked or unbaked. Unbaked will be frozen and boxed with cooking instructions enclosed.

Pickup date for the pies will be July 31 between 6 and 8 p.m.

To place your order, call the church office at 410-798-5511, or leave a message. If you do order via message, be sure to leave your name, phone number and quantity, and specify your preference for baked or unbaked.

If you miss the pre-order sale, some pies will be available at the church's annual Peach Festival from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 9. Things go quickly, so don't dawdle.

The festival will feature peach pies, peach jam, peach cobbler, peaches and ice cream, fresh peaches in bags and baskets, and peach smoothies. The United Methodist Men will cook hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages and beverages, and the Tongues of Fire barbecue team will be selling half-chickens and pulled pork sandwiches.

There also will be live music by Silver Bluegrass Express.

Davidsonville United Methodist Church is located at 189 W. Central Ave. in Davidsonville. For more information, visit the Web site at www.dumc.net.

Mom's macaroni salad

The best recipes often are cherished family favorites, and Marianne F. of Blackwalnut Cove has shared one for macaroni salad that came from her mom, the late Ruth Stevens, who lived in Annapolis.

Marianne e-mailed: "A few weeks ago you asked for macaroni salad recipes ... and like most people's mom's recipes, hers is my favorite. It's not really a recipe, more of a combination of ingredients that depends on how much you want to make."

This salad capitalizes on the flavors of one of my favorite summer food treats, BLTs. It's a perfect use for those local tomatoes that are just starting to ripen.

RUTH'S MACARONI SALAD

To cooked and chilled elbow macaroni, add: chopped celery, diced fresh tomatoes (I like to use Roma tomatoes because they're firm and less juicy), extra sharp cheddar cheese (diced small - it's strong!), cooked and crumbled bacon and Hellman's mayonnaise. Chill and enjoy!