Orchard Talk

Help! We’re being overrun by cucumbers!!!

If we can’t get to the phones, it’s because we can’t make it through the mountains of pickling and slicing cukes we’ve harvested from our gardens. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to plant 5 acres

Here’s what we’re offering this week:

Veggies: Now available at both markets: good quality slicing cukes (not too fat) and pickling cukes (sand-free). Our sweet corn is here: golden fresh and sweet. We also have lots of our own zucchini and summer squash in the market, plus amazing melons, juicy tomatoes and crisp, tasty peppers direct from Bay City.

Cherries: Last chance for delicious, fresh tart cherries. Get ‘em while you can, most likely through the middle of the week. If you absolutely can’t make it by then, you’re still in luck. We’re now offering frozen pitted tart cherries and sweet cherries as well. So many ways to enjoy this Northern Michigan favorite… What’s yours?

Peaches: Our Early Glo peaches are ready for picking. These are sweet and delicious; great for eating! Just a little while longer for the Red Haven canning peaches, which we’re expecting the last week of August.

Nectarines: They should be ready around the same time as the Red Havens. So far, it’s looking like the last week of August to enjoy these.

Apricots: The apricots are delicious and firm, still going strong. Come and U-Pick or find them ready to go at the market.

Blueberries: Direct from West Olive, we’re got luscious, plump blueberries-great for eating and making desserts.

Flowers: We have big, beautiful sunflowers available to U-Pick and in our market. We also have a plethora of statice: a bright, colorful way to brighten up your home or office.

Tags: apricots, Cherries, cherry orchard, cherry picking, Crop Updates & Orchard Talk, fresh cherries, fresh tart cherries, In the Markets, nectarines, peaches, pick your own, sweet corn, traverse city, u-pick, u-pick apricots, u-pick cherries, u-pick peaches

Makes 12 to 15 servings of Croatian Sour Cherry Strudel

Prep Time:  60 minutes

Cook Time:  45 minutes

Ingredients:

****Strudel Dough****

- 1/2 cup of lukewarm water

- 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar

- 3/4 teaspoon of salt

- 2 cups of all-purpose flour

- 1 tablespoon of cold butter

- Melted butter

- Flour for rolling

****Cherry Strudel Filling****

- 8 cups of washed, stemmed, pitted sour cherries

- 2 teaspoons of grated lemon rind (optional)

- 1  1/2 to 2 cups of sugar or to taste

- 3/4  cup of ground (not chopped) walnuts

- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Preparation:

1.  In a small bowl, mix water, vinegar and salt.  Place flour in a large bowl and cut the butter in as for pie dough.  Add water mixture and stir by hand for about 5 minutes or until dough becomes smooth.

2.  Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, adding as little extra flour as possible.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

3.  Meanwhile, prepare the cherry filling by combining the cherries, lemon rind (if using) and sugar in a large bowl.  Set aside.

4.  Cover a large table with a tablecloth (it will become stained from the fat in the dough, so use and old tablecloth).  Sprinkle the cloth generously with flour.  Place the dough in the center of the cloth and brush it with melted butter.  Roll the dough to an 1/8-inch thickness.

5.  Begin stretching the dough either over the backs of your hands or palm-side up, whichever works best for you.  Work quickly, continually lifting the dough and stretching it by pulling your hands apart until it is almost paper thin and drapes over the sides of the table.  Using kitchen shears, trim off the thicker outer edges of the strudel dough.

6.  Place rack in middle of oven and pre-heat to 4oo degrees.  Brush the dough liberally with melted butter.  Place the cherry filling along one long edge in a 3″ wide strip, 2 inches from the edges.  Sprinkle ground walnuts over the filling.

7.  Using the tablecloth to roll the strudel away from you, jellyroll fashion, until it is completely rolled.   Brush the top of the strudel with melted butter.  Cut into sections that will fit your baking sheets and tuck in ends of strudel.

8.  Place parchment on baking sheets and transfer strudel sections to them, seam-side down.  Bake 10 minutes,  reduce heat to 375 degrees and bake 20 to 25 minutes more or until strudel is crisp and golden.

9.  Remove from oven, cool slightly and then cut on an angle into slices.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar.  You may also cool completely to make the slicing easier and then rewarm in a microwave.  Dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve as is or with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Tags: fresh tart cherries, strudel recipe, tart cherries, tart cherry recipes

Makes about 6 servings of Hungarian Cherry Cake – Cseresznyes Lepeny

Prep Time:  30 minutes

Cook Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients:

- 1 pound of fresh, washed, stemmed and pitted sour cherries (left whole)

- 6 ounces of unsalted butter at room temperature

- 3/4 cup of granulated sugar

- 3 large eggs, separated

- 1 cup of all-purpose flour

- a pinch of salt

- 1/4 cup of bread crumbs

- vanilla sugar

Preparation:

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 10×6 inch rectangular tart pan, or a 9″ square or 9″ round  cake pan and dust with bread crumbs.

2.  In a large bowl, cream butter and half the granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  Add egg yolks and continue creaming until well incorporated.  Add the flour and salt, mixing well.

3.  With clean, grease-free beaters, whip egg whites with remaining granulated sugar until stiff.  Gently fold whites into cake batter.

4.  Transfer batter to prepared pan.  Top with cherries, stem side down.  Bake 30 minutes.  The batter will partially bubble up and cover the fruit.  Cool in pan.  Sprinkle with vanilla sugar.  Cut into squares or wedges and serve.

Tags: Fresh Cherry Recipes, fresh tart cherries, sour cherries, tart cherries

Makes 6 servings of Cherry Bublanina or Tresnova Bublania

Prep Time:  30 minutes

Cook Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients:

- 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, softened

- 1/2 cup of sugar

- 3 large eggs divided, at room temperature

- 1 tablespoon Amaretto or other almond liqueur (optional)

- 1/2 teaspoon of salt

- pinch of cream of tartar

- 1 cup of all-purpose flour

- 1 pound of washed, pitted sour cherries

- confectioners’ sugar

Preparation:

1.  Place rack in center of oven and heat to 350 degrees.  Butter or lightly coat with cooking spray a 9″ x 9″ baking pan.  In a medium  bowl, cream together butter, sugar and yolks until light and fluffy.  Add liqueur, if using, and salt, mixing well.

2.  In a clean medium bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff.  Alternately fold in egg whites and flour into butter – egg mixture.

3.  Turn batter into prepared pan and scatter cherries evenly over top.  Lightly press down cherries into batter until partially covered.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.  Cut  into 6 equal pieces.  Serve warm or cold dusted with the confectioners’ sugar.

Tags: fresh tart cherries, tart cherries, tart cherry recipes