I absolutely LOVE cherries. Artificial cherry flavour has a bad reputation, but it’s my absolute favourite fake flavour (lollipops, jello, popsicles). I love fresh cherries even more than fake ones and nothing says summer to me more than cherries. Growing up in Vancouver meant that summertimes were made for road-tripping it down to the Okanagan Valley to pick fruit at all the U-Pick orchards.
Sometimes my whole extended family would go on a camping trip together, but my favourite times were when it was just the four of us, me, my mom and dad, and Kevin. We’d pack a tent, bring some buckets and live the fruit picking life for a couple of weeks. No TV, no phones (smart phones didn’t exist back then!), just the stars, the barbecue and massive fruit orchards.
My dad would insist on driving around to all the orchards to find the best u-pick price. My mom would be more concerned about the quality of fruit and whether or not pesticides were used. Kevin and I would just be itching to get out of the van. Fruit picking is a lot of fun and a lot of hard work. Still, we were pretty quick about the whole thing – the ladder would come out, trees would be climbed, fruit would be picked. On our way home, our little van would be packed to the brim full of peaches, cherries and apricots. After the long and winding drive, we’d invite our family and friends over to help themselves to the free fruit stand we’d set up in our backyard. Those trips were always my favourite part of summer.
Sadly, I haven’t gone to pick cherries in a long time now. Happily though, my Whole Foods carries locally sourced BC cherries. I partnered up with them today to bring you this post and a giveaway! Whole Foods is giving away a $50 gift card to one lovely reader.
To enter: please leave a comment below with your favourite childhood summer food memory. Giveaway ends on July 22nd at 12AM PST. Open to US or Canadian residents only. Winner will be chosen by a random number generator. Good luck!
UPDATE: Yay! Cindy M, get ready to go shopping because you just won a $50 Whole Foods gift card! Congrats!
Easy Pistachio Cherry Tart Recipe
makes 9 tarts
- 1/2 sheet store bought puff pastry, thawed
- 1/4 cup ricotta
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons honey, or to taste
- 14 cherries, halved and pitted
- 2 tablespoons chopped pistachios
Cut the puff pastry into 9 equal pieces and poke all over with fork so they don’t puff too much in the oven. Bake according to the package. While the puff is baking, whip together the ricotta, cream cheese and honey until fluffy and smooth. Adjust to taste. When the puff is ready, cool and if needed, flatten slightly so the cherries have a nice level plane to sit on. When cool, spread with ricotta mix, top with cherry halves and chopped pistachios. Enjoy!
I think grilling is my favorite memory! Rain or shine, my dad would be out there grilling anything he could get his hands on, especially since we live in the Midwest and grilling season is short. Also, your pictures are just bonkers awesome!
Watermelon in the backyard with a sprinkle of salt. Wouldn’t be summer without it!
I think my favorite summer food memory is getting those firecracker red, white, and blue popsicles when my family was camping during the summer. I dont think Ive had one in years!
having watermelon out on the boat at the lake near where I grew up
We went to Puerto Rico every summer, so traveling there with my family is my favorite memory!
My mom makes a strawberry yogurt pie with cool whip. Totally artificial but delicious. Anyway, my favorite memory is not eating it, but adding the chocolate chips to the batter and hearing the clicking sound they make as they collide in the smooth yogurt.
I spent many childhood summers in Maine with my grandparents. Most favorite food memory of those summers; rhubarb. Behind the house on Katahdin Avenue, the garden filled with a variety of beans, squash, berries and the rhubarb. The siblings/cousins would scramble out the door for a morning of exploring/fun but first, I headed to the back of the garden, grabbing a couple of rhubarb stalks, sliding them into my back pocket. A snack for later just in case…of course there was also the strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb compote for ice cream and rhubarb jam. Thank you, this giveaway brought those fond memories back to me!
My favorite childhood summer food is a toss up between sweet corn and popsicles. We ate a LOT of both. I recently got on the popcicle making bandwagon and let me just say – watermelon mint lime.
Eating salt water taffy on the boardwalk on Virginia Beach!
My favorite summer memory is eating snow cones of all different flavors :)