As Washington is starting to see their first cherries appearing in the stores, I thought it a good time to discuss how wonderful this little stone fruit is for you. Tart cherries have an amazing ability to keep inflammation at bay. The sour variety is most beneficial with higher anthocyanin content but sweet does the trick too. The darker the cherry the better they are for you. They are also a great natural source of melatonin to help regulate biorhythms and sleep pattens, and help break down uric acid in the joint of those suffering from gout. An amazing little fruit!
My favorite ways to eat cherries is fresh but they are so yummy in a crisp that I make one every year to celebrate this time of year. This recipe is also fabulous with apples in the fall.
Cherry Crisp
5 cups fresh cherries ~ pitted (I suggest tart cherries for this)
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashion rolled oats
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fine salt
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup sliced flaked almonds
2 Tbsp. chopper crystallized ginger
1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter
Preheat oven to 375F
Mix cherries with cornstarch and place in a baking dish with 2 inch sides. In a large bowl mix together flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well. Add rest of ingredients and using a pastry cutter or two knives work butter until mixture is crumbly and butter is evenly distributed. Crumble mixture over cherries.
Bake crisp until topping is golden about 50 minutes. Remove dish from oven and let cool.
Serve with vanilla ice cream and enjoy!
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