Thank You Aunt Kathy!

My wonderful aunt Kathy in Scappoose, Oregon sent me some great books to help me with my garden and culinary inclinations. She sent the Food Lover's Companion from Barron's. I highly recommend it for all you foodies and people like me that are learning little by little. So... from time to time, I'm going to quote from the book. I will randomly select (close my eyes and open a page and point a finger) an entry for all of us to share and comment on. If you have a recipe or suggestions that we can all enjoy, please pipe in!

Here we go! (Eyes closed) And the winner is... Cherry

Cherry Said to date as far back as 300 B.C., cherries were named after the Turkish town of Cerasus. Throughout the centuries, cherry trees have been lauded for their deliciously succulent fruit as well as for their beauty. Tourists flock to Washington D.C., ever year to see the cherry blossoms on the ornamental cherry trees that were originally presented to America's capital in 1912 by Tokyo's governor. There are two main groups of cherries -- sweet and sour. The larger of the two are the firm, heart-shaped sweet cherries. They're delicious for eating out of hand and can also be cooked. The most popular varieties range from the dark red to purplish BING, LAMBERT and TARTARIAN to the golden, red-blushed ROYAL ANN. MARASCHINO CHERRIES are usually made from the Royal Ann cherries. Sour cherries are smaller, softer and more globular than the sweet varieties. Most are too tart to eat raw, but make excellent pies, preserves and the like. The bestselling sour cherry varieties are the bright red EARLY RICHMOND (the first cherry are available in the late spring) and MONTMORENCY, and the dark mahogany red MORELLO. Most fresh cherries are available from May (June for sour cherries) through August. Choose brightly colored, shiny, plump fruit. Sweet cherries should be quite firm, but not hard; sour varieties should be medium-firm. Stemmed cherries are a better buy, but those with stems last longer. Store unwashed cherries in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Dried cherries-both sweet and sour-are available in many markets today. They can be eaten as a snack, or used in baked goods or desserts as one would use raisins. Cherries contain minor amounts of vitamins and minerals. See also CHOKECHERRY.

The New Food Lover's Companion: Fourth Edition

Now, I'm hungry for some cherries, specifically Chukar Cherries - a lovely chocolatier that resales out of Pike Place Market in Seattle, but also has a great website akin to Harry and David. They have wonderful chocolate covered cherries. For more information about Washington cherries, check out www.nwcherries.com. My favorite cherry is the Ranier - huge and luscious. Just one more reason to visit the Pacific Northwest! Does anyone have any cherry favorites (recipes or otherwise) that they want to share??????