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!
love memories of summer barbecues
food over the campfire in the mountains!
eating arepas at the beach in venezuela
My favorite summer food memory is eating all kinds of salads for dinner when it was too hot to cook!
What a beautiful tart! Pistachio and cherry sounds like such a perfect combination. My favorite summer food memory is of having big glass of homemade lemonade in my grandmother’s backyard (conveniently next to the lemon tree from whence the lemonade came, haha). Thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
my favorite summer food memory is having ice cream and fish and chips by the water :)
Eating many ears of corn on the cob for my entire meal as a kid!
Huckleberry country is where I live, also known as the Flathead Valley in Montana. On the hottest summer day’s I would help myself to the huckleberry stocked freezer in our home and fill my bowl to the brim with those precious dark purple gems, fresh milk and a dusting of sugar. I can still visualize myself sitting on the steps of the back porch with my huckleberry bowl perched on my knees, chipping away at the milk and berries. It was a time of solitude that was special to me and a cooling relief on those hot summer day’s.
S’mooooooorreeessss!!!
My favorite summer food is eating grilled corn at our backyard patio.