The Dark Side Of Nutrition

For a delicious treat that is high in nutrients and antioxidants we'll have to travel to the dark side. No, we are not meeting Darth Vadar for lunch although eating these might just lighten him up a bit. I guess in some instances even the dark side has a silver lining....enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Cherries

3 ounces of a really good dark chocolate
1 cup of dried tart cherries

Put chocolate in a bowl and microwave for 1 minute stirring halfway through. Remove the bowl from microwave and stir in the cherries. Spread out on a wax paper lined baking sheet and put them in freezer until firm (about 10 min.).

Keep in air tight container in cool place always ready for snacking.

FYI - this works really well with dried blueberries, of course you can dip anything your heart desires, it's chocolate after all!

Bada-Bing !

I look so forward to cherry season and as much as I do enjoy several varieties of cherries the “Bing” is still my favorite. Almost every vendor at the farmer’s market this past weekend had bags and baskets of these plump little gems sitting out on their tables tempting all who passed by. Cherries tend to be a difficult ingredient to use because you taste one and then another and then another and then another…..hey, wait a minute how come I don’t have enough for the recipe?

Bing Cherry Bread Pudding

2 cups of pitted Bing Cherries, halved
1/4 cup of brandy
2 cups each of half and half and milk
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups of sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 loaf stale French bread or Italian, torn into pieces, about 7 or 8 cups
1/4 cup of melted butter
1/4 cup of sliced almonds for sprinkling over the top

Mix pitted cherries and brandy in small bowl, cover and let it sit for about an hour.

Pre-Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Generously butter a 3 quart baking dish. Mix half and half, milk, eggs, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl. Add bread and cherry mixture. Stir to mix. Stir in butter.
Pour mixture in prepared dish, sprinkle with sliced almonds and bake until top is golden and crusty, about 1 hour. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if you wish.


Photo/TessTsai/flickr

Meema's Pineapple Upside Down Cake

At my grandmother’s house this past Saturday she was telling us how popular pineapple upside down cake was when she was younger. If they were expecting company she would always bake one and everyone was always so impressed. In those days she said it was considered quite the fancy dessert and people felt very special to have one made for them. According to her no one bakes these anymore so she has taken it upon herself to reintroduce pineapple upside down cake to the family and we’re mighty glad she did, absolutely delicious and pretty too.

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup cake flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 can pineapple slices in syrup

maraschino cherries

Use an 8" square or round pan. Drain can of pineapple, saving the syrup. Place butter in 8" pan, melt in the oven while preheating to 375°F.

Sprinkle brown sugar over melted butter. Arrange whole pineapple slices and cherries (with cherries in centers of pineapple slices) over the brown sugar in pan. Cut some of the remaining pineapple slices into half circles, and then line the sides of the pan with them (standing up).

In a bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, softened butter, milk, egg, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the pineapple syrup.

Pour batter into the pan being careful not to disturb the pineapples and cherries. Bake at 375°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake is golden and has pulled away from the edges slightly.

Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes to set and then turn it upside down onto a serving dish. Serve while still warm.

Cheery about Cherries

It's that time of year again! It’s cherry season, one of my favorite times. Growing up we had a cherry tree in the back yard that had the biggest, plumpest deep burgundy purple cherries. My friends, family and I would just climb the tree, pick a limb to sit on and eat those sweet juicy cherries until our stomachs hurt. We pretty much ate the cherries straight from the tree but the one thing we did like to make with the cherries was a “Clafouti”. Clafouti is a custard like dessert, it is basically a fruit (typically cherries) baked with an almost pancake like batter.
From what I have read apparently the French say you should never remove the pits from the cherries when making a Clafouti, they say leaving the pits imparts more flavor. I couldn’t agree more, I am sure that it does in the same way that bone-in meat imparts more flavor to the meat versus a boneless cut. But, I really like my teeth and would prefer not to crack them on a cherry pit, so I opt to take the pits out before making this recipe. That part is totally up to you.

Cherry Clafouti

1 lb. fresh sweet cherries or 1 can dark sweet cherries

1/2 c. sifted unbleached flour

2/3 c. sugar, save a tablespoon to sprinkle on top before baking

Pinch of salt

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 c. milk

3 tbsp. butter, melted and cooled

Wash and dry fresh cherries, or thoroughly drain canned cherries. In large bowl combine flour, 1/2 cup of the sugar and the salt. Add eggs, blending thoroughly with wire whip or wooden spoon. Add milk and melted butter, stirring until mixture is quite smooth. (Do not beat.) Butter a 9x9x2 inch baking pan. Sprinkle in 1 tbsp. of the remaining sugar. Spread cherries on bottom; pour in batter.

My apologies to all, I didn't even realize I had left out the cooking time and temp. Thank you anonymous for making me aware of that so I could correct it.

The oven temp should be 350 degrees and baking time is about 30 to 35 minutes.

Once again sorry for the accidental omit.