Tart cherry bloom has come early this year! If you are thinking about a drive to northern Michigan to witness the spectacular tart cherry blossoms, don’t hesitate to make it this weekend.
Here’s a quick pic of the Montmorency cherry block from outside the office door this morning. Won’t be long before peak bloom!
Slideshow of Tuesday morning tour of King Orchards. (Click on the pictures for a larger view.)
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Andy Ross of the Wooster Square Cherry Blossom Festival shares his personal size cherry pie recipe featuring King Orchards IQF Montmorency tart cherries.
This recipe makes six personal size cherry pies. (5 inch pie tins)
Filling
5 C of fresh frozen unsweetened cherries or three 15 oz cans of tart. I use cherries fresh frozen from King Orchards brand or their canned tart cherries.
1 Tbls of organic tapioca starch or corn starch
3 C of superfine sugar.
1 Tbls lemon juice
1 tsp almond extract
Bottom Crust
1 C of crushed gram cracker crumbs plus some for dusting pans. I prefer Nabisco.
4 Tbls unsalted butter
Upper crust
1 box of prepared crust from either Pillsbury of store brand such as Stop & Shop.
1/8 C of extra virgin light olive oil
1/8 C of superfine sugar
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375. Thaw the cherries and drain them well. Reserve the cherry juice for shakes or mixing with seltzer. Mix the cherries with 2 cups of the sugar, let sit and drain again. Mix in the tapioca or corn starch, almond extract and lemon juice and the balance of sugar to taste. Let them sit for 15 minutes while you prepare your crust and gram cracker crust bottom.
Take your small tin pans and spray them with butter flavored Pam or grease them with butter. Then dust the sides and bottom of the tins with gram cracker crumbs.
Melt the butter and mix it with 1 cup gram cracker crumbs. Take the dusted pans and place the gram cracker mixture on the bottom about 1/8 thick. Press the gram cracker mixture with a spoon until compacted. Place in freezer for 15 minutes to chill before filling.
Roll out you prepared pie crust and use one of the tins as a template cutting out a circle. You should be able to cut out three upper crusts per roll. Take your cherry mixture and scoop it out with a slotted spoon to leave any excess liquid behind and fill the tin piled a little high but not too high. Place the crust over the tin. Use fork tines to press down the edges of the upper crust against the tins. Carefully cut an x-shaped slit in the upper crust using a sharp knife.
Mix the olive oil with super fine sugar so you have a thick mixture. Brush the tops of the pies with the mixture using a pastry brush..
Bake the pies on a cookie sheet or directly on the rack for 35-40 minutes. The crusts should look golden brown not soggy.
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A super mix of nutrients, perfect for a simple grab-and-go snack, lunchbox treats or breakfast on the go.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 c dried tart cherries
3/4 c toasted almonds
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 c brown sugar
1/3 c honey
1/3 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 c oats
1 c wheat flour
3/4 c all purpose flour
1/4 c flax seed
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c dark chocolate chips
1c yogurt butter
Directions:
Cream butter and sugars in a small mixing bowl. Drizzle in honey and vanilla, mix well, add eggs. Set aside.
Sift flours, powder and soda in another medium size bowl. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Stir in oats, flax seed, chocolate, almonds and cherries.
Spray muffin pan wells with non stick spray. Place one heaping tablespoon of batter into each well.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Yield 2 dz.
Nutrition Info:
Nutrition Facts per cookie: 220 calories, 8 g total fat, 2 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 34 g carbohydrate, 20 mg cholesterol, 4 g protein, 3 g fiber, 150 mg sodium; Daily Values: 6% vitamin A, 0% vitamin C, 4% calcium, 6% iron
courtesy of Cherry Marketing Institute
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Tart cherry juice has been making news headlines lately, as more studies are finding that cherry juice can help speed post-exercise recovery. Last month, Dave and I hit the road and headed south to represent King Orchards at the ING Georgia Marathon Health & Fitness Expo. This was an excellent opportunity for us to talk about tart cherries, and to introduce people to the great taste and wonderful nutritional qualities of King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate.
The Health and Fitness Expo was held at the Georgia Dome the two days prior to the marathon. Race participants had to come through and pick up their numbers and race packets. It was free and open to the public, so there was a steady stream of runners, supporters, families, and members of the general public coming and going throughout the two-day event.
We had chilled cherry juice, and plenty of dried cherry samples for everyone to try. We also had several quarts of King Orchards Cherry Juice Concentrate, as well as 1 pound bags of dried tart cherries, and Red Recovery combo packs available for purchase.
We talked to thousands of people about Montmorency tart cherries and their unique nutrient profile. I think the best part was being able to share samples of our products and get so much great feedback. Several people proclaimed, “These are the best dried cherries I’ve ever had!”
One of the nice things about being in the company of athletes and the fitness-interested is that everyone was happy to know there are no additives, no colorings, and no added sugars or sweeteners in our tart cherry juice.
Sometime it would be fun to do candid pictures or video of people’s reactions to their first taste of tart cherry juice. Many are surprised to find the cherry juice is tart but not bitter, and describe it as sweeter and more refreshing than they imagine. We also see plenty of puckers, raised eyebrows, and exclamations of “Whoo! That’s tart!”
Our “Good for You” poster, designed by Kalmar Designs. Doesn’t she look naturally fit & healthy as a result of regular exercise and a healthy diet which includes plenty of tart cherry juice and dried cherries?
Dave, my helper and honorary Cherry Ambassador, assisted folks with the cherry juice dispenser. Dave was indispensable during this whole trip, providing the muscle to my madness. That was hard work, loading, unloading and carting around cases of cherry juice, dried cherries, equipment and supplies. Good thing he drank plenty of tart cherry juice!
Come to think of it, we both drank a lot of cherry juice over the course of the weekend, and despite working and being on our feet for 12 hour stretches, we felt remarkably good and not too sore to go out exploring a little bit of Atlanta in the evenings. That’s food for another blog, but I will say this: If loving hot donuts and The Varsity chili dogs and onion rings is wrong, I simply can’t be right all the time.
We were so busy both days that we didn’t get to explore all the other vendors’ booths, but we did meet some great folks in our vicinity. We were across from All3Sports (we are seriously thinking about springing for the compression socks they sell for hiking and camping), next to the Children’s Tumor Foundation (Dedicated to improving the health and well being of individuals and families affected by the neurofibromatosis), and down the lane from The Arthritis Foundation Joints in Motion Team (they train folks to run and walk marathons, and raise funds and awareness on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation to fight arthritis), Women’s Running Magazine, and Sweaty Bands (who says you can’t be stylish as you sweat?). Everyone was incredibly friendly and enthusiastic about their work and how it promotes well-being, health and fitness.
Kudos to all the marathon participants, and thanks to all who stopped by our booth. We had a great time meeting everyone, and were thrilled to see so many people with roots and family in Michigan. A special thank you to Marie Spano, MS, RD/LD, FISSN, CSCS, who was kind enough to mention King Orchards tart cherry juice during her presentation at the Runners Lounge.
Cheers!
Patty
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