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

Cherry Chili

Lean ground turkey simmered with fire-roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, Bell pepper, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder and chopped dried cherries

Ingredients:
4 ounces dried tart cherries, chopped (3/4 cup)
2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 roasted red Bell pepper, cut into 1/4″ cubes
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups chopped fire-roasted* tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 16-ounce can, rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions:
Heat one cup of the broth. Place cherries in small mixing bowl. Add hot broth and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute for about five minutes or until onion is soft. Add garlic and cook one minute longer. Do not brown garlic. Add turkey and cook until it is no longer pink.

Add roasted Bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander, mustard and oregano. Cook mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for about two minutes. Add tomatoes and remaining cup of broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes.

Stir in beans, cherries and cilantro. Continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes or until mixture is just heated through. Season with additional salt if desired.

*Used canned fire-roasted tomatoes for optimal flavor; may use regular canned chopped tomatoes

Yield: about 2 quarts or 8 servings

Nutrition Info:
Calories 223, Total Fat g 6, Sat Fat g 2, Chol mg 41, Sodium mg 448, Total Carb g 28, Fiber g 5, Sugars g 14, Protein g 17

King Orchards M-88 Market. We're Open!

We’ll be sampling:

Cheerful Cherry Yogurt Parfaits: A little bit of homemade granola layered with dried fruit (including cherries), tart cherries (thawed from IQF),  and lowfat yogurt.  So yummy you’ll forget it’s good for you.

Slices of Cherry Pie: If you haven’t ever tried one of Rose’s famous cherry pies, you have to stop in and see what you’re missing. Rumor has it a certain Croc wearing celebrity chef was spotted leaving the Kewadin bakery last summer with the Balaton version in hand.  Molto yummy.

3 Varieties of Dried Tart Cherries

Dried Tart Cherries: Try a few apple juice sweetened or traditional sugar infused dried cherries, and let us know which you prefer. We have lots of recipes to share, too.

Tart Cherry Juice: Naturally, you’ll want to try our signature product, King Orchards Montmorency tart cherry juice concentrate. If you want, we can give a dissertation on all the healthful properties of Montmorency tart  cherries.  But only if you want.

Frozen Tart Cherries: Both Balaton and Montmorency cherries, thawed from IQF. This is your opportunity to see and taste both varieties and see what you think. We love both, but for different reasons.

Talking Shop

Lively Conversation: It must be the sunshine. Everyone’s in a great mood, happily chatting about truck & equipment building, jeeps, winches and what-not.

Time to stock up on spicy-sweet Balaton cherry salsa.

Don’t forget to pick up a little cherry treat to enjoy at home. Betsy has Everything Cherry on sale through February.

Betsy & Alice enjoying a visit.

Happy Free Pie Friday!

I find myself looking over the cherry harvesting equipment; making repairs, modifications, upgrades and constantly looking for ways to improve the design.

These repairs are crucial to the work flow during the harvest. Many times a close look at the machines in the off season will save you days of headache and lost labor later in the year. Most of the repairs are simple, a little welding followed by a some wrenching will get the job done. Other times it is more complicated, these are the ones I enjoy the most. Improve the design of the machine in order to cut down on damaged fruit or costly repairs.

Well I am heading out, have to go do some ice fishing. What is work with out a little play?

“If there was one thing you’d like everyone to know about King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate, what would it be?”

Here is what we learned from each other, and what we’d like you to know:

Jim:  “It takes approximately 20 to 25 pounds of tart cherries to make one quart of King Orchards tart cherry juice concentrate.”

John:  “Tart cherry juice concentrate is the least expensive and most efficient way to get tart cherries.”

Betsy:  “To establish a routine of drinking tart cherry juice, think about your personality. Do you like to have a glass of orange or apple juice in the morning or the afternoon? Consider adding a tablespoon or two of cherry juice concentrate to your daily glass of juice. Are you a smoothie drinker? Cherry juice is an easy and nutritious addition to any smoothie recipe. Like a cool, sweet drink? Try adding a bit of cherry juice concentrate to store-bought or homemade lemonade.”

Patty:  “Sometimes I get so enthusiastic about promoting tart cherry juice concentrate as a healthy drink, I forget to tell people how delicious it is! It is bright and refreshing simply mixed with water and poured over ice. Tart cherry juice concentrate also makes an excellent mixer. A little KO tart cherry juice concentrate, some water, soda water or sparkling wine, a little vodka (or not), and a squeeze of lime, and Voila! You have a tasty, smooth and semi-sophisticated beverage.”

Jésus Sr and Maria:  The cherry juice concentrate is so good, they’ll be taking some with them on their vacation to Guatemala this month, to share with friends and family. Not in their carry-on luggage, of course.

Jésus Jr:  There are only 18 days left in our National Cherry Month sale on Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate. During all of February, we’re offering quarts of tart cherry juice concentrate at the sale price of $12.99 instead of $13.99. That means we can ship 3 quarts of cherry juice anywhere in the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and APO addresses for less than $50!

Daisy:  She loves Hip Bones, but we have heard from many people who bake tart cherry juice into homemade dog biscuits (Dogs can use tart cherries to maintain healthy joints too.)

Mike King: There must be something to this tart cherry juice muscle recovery stuff, because his ski coaches keep telling him he should be drinking it while training for races.

Rose: “I’ve had customers tell me all kinds of cool ways to use tart cherry juice concentrate. Drizzle it over oatmeal to make your healthy breakfast taste a lot like cherry pie. Mix it into vanilla yogurt for a classic, soothing flavor combo.”

Is there something you would like to know about tart cherry juice, or do you have a recipe or helpful hint you’d like to share?  We would love your feedback. Feel free to comment here at Orchard Talk, or contact us toll-free at 1-877-937-5464.

Momma’s Cheesecake Recipe

5 eggs – separated

1 cup Sugar

1 lb. Cream Cheese

1 cup Sour Cream

2 Tablespoons Flour

1 tsp. Vanilla

Heat oven to 275 degrees. Butter a 9″ Spring Form pan and coat with 1/2 cup Graham Cracker Crumbs (3 Full size Crackers) 1 Tablespoon of Sugar and 1/4 tsp of Cinnamon and 1/4 tsp Nutmeg.

Beat egg yolks until thick and Lemon Colored. Gradually beat in Sugar. Break up Cream Cheese and add to Egg Yolk mixture, beating until smooth. Add Sour Cream, Flour and Vanilla until smooth.

Beat Egg Whites in a glass or metal bowl – until stiff but not dry. Gently fold into cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 70 minutes. Turn off oven and leave for one hour (Without Opening Oven Door!! BIG SECRET!!) Top with your favorite topping when cool!

There is the recipe BUT, I use this recipe for ALL fruit filled Cheesecake also! So today I am going to just roll in a cup of Montmorency Tart Cherries that I have let thaw and drain. Then I am going to make a cherry filling to spread on the top and put a touch of whip cream for decoration only. I am using the Balaton Cherry for this mission because it keeps its shape better. It will have nice and round cherries like ‘Right off the Tree” look in my cheesecake. I can hardly wait to taste it.

With this recipe, if you are folding in fruit, make sure it is as drained as you can get it or you will get some wet spots around your fruit that you added. I just watched Julie and Julia a couple days ago so the excitement it climbing!

p.s. I wonder if a person could cut little hearts in the center of the pastries for Valentine’s Day treats.

CHERRY PIE COOKIES

Ingredients:
Cherry filling (see recipe below)  – 1 1/4 cups
Prepared pie pastry
1 Large egg
1 Tbl. Water
Coarse white sugar

Directions:

Prepare cherry filling according to recipe below.

Roll pie pastry on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness. Using floured cutter, cut into 4-inch diameter rounds. Re-work scraps of pastry once.

Combine egg and water; mix well. Place 1 ounce (1 tablespoon) cherry filling in center of one round. Brush edges with egg wash. top with another round. Seal edges with a fork. Place on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining rounds.

Brush top of cookies with egg mixture. Cut slit in top to allow steam to escape during baking. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.

Bake in preheated 400 F degree conventional oven 10 to 12 minutes or until light golden. Remove from baking sheet and let cool completely on wire racks.

Cherry Filling
(with canned tart cherries)
Yield: 2-1/4 quarts   (This recipe yields a lot of cherry filling!)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 quarts   Water-pack canned tart cherries (4 pounds 5 ounces drained weight) – 6 15oz cans
1 1/2 cups   Granulated sugar
1/2 cup   Cornstarch
3/4 cup Reserved Juice or water
1 Tbl. Almond Extract

Directions:
Drain Cherries, reserving juice. Combine sugar and cornstarch in 6-quart saucepan; mix well. Stir in reserved cherry juice or water.

Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Boil 1 minute, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened and clear. Remove from heat. Stir in drained cherries and almond extract.

Refrigerate cherry mixture 1 to 2 hours. Cover. Mixture will keep refrigerated up to 3 days. Do not heat before using.

Use this filling to prepare Cherry Pie Cookies or other bakery recipes.