Tag Archives: cherries

Cherry Bars

2 Replies

Let’s talk about seasonal foods.

cherrie

I love eating seasonally. Like I said yesterday, I look forward to sweet corn in the summer all year long. Same with peaches. Brussels sprouts in the fall, oranges in the winter, beans in the spring.

cherries

But what happens when I just want corn in the winter and don’t want to settle for the canned/frozen variety. What happens when I just want a juicy ripe peach in the spring and the ones in the grocery store leave very little to be desired?

cherries1

That is the down part. Missing these wonderful fruits and veggies when they are not in season. But, it is the way of the world and I guess I can settle on enjoying each and every moment I do have with my beloved fruits and veggies each season, knowing that there will be a new one to enjoy soon. And the cycle will go on and on and on.

cherries2

These cherries. Two weeks ago at market, we’d thought it’d be the last for the red gems. Well, they were back this past Sunday. Those disappointed about the last cherries of the season got another week out of Three Springs Fruit Farm. Another week to enjoy this awesome little fruit.

wine

If you are someone who still has some cherries around, maybe try these bars.

cherries3

Yes, cherries are awesome as is. Pop one into your mouth, eat around the pit, spit it out and repeat. I really enjoy cherries like that. But they are also good in breakfast-y and dessert-y things.

flour

I have been on a roll with cherry recipes the last couple of weeks. A crumble version for two, here, and a breakfast version, here.

bars

Now this one, inspired by this recipe from White on Rice Couple. I wanted something that was portable and sweet. Could be counted as dessert, a snack or breakfast. The original apricot version looks delightful, but I thought it would be just as good with cherries subbed in, too.

bars4

I did love these. They are a great snack and just perfectly sweet. They are also a good breakfast. 🙂

bars3

If you’re looking for something to do with the last cherries of this season, click here for this wonderful recipe. I subbed cherries for the apricots and white wine for the Grand Marnier. Otherwise, I did everything the same.

bars1

And, if cherries are done where you are, I’m sure you are now enjoying the next best thing and already looking forward to the next cherry season. 🙂

bars2

Enjoy!

Week in Photos

Leave a reply

Happy Saturday to you!

I hope that you have a fun/relaxing weekend ahead!

Here are four little things that made my week.

{This peanut butter. I was so disappointed when I realized I was out on Monday morning, when I was already set on having it on my English muffin. I solved the problem by mixing up some of my own in my mini food chopper!}

pb

{This kitty. Greg keeps telling me that I need to stop posting only sweet and sleepy photos of Ivy. This was taken right after he pounced on my hand, which was on the opposite side of the box from him. He went through the box rather than over. :)}

ivy

{These cherries. A preview of something I’ll share next week.}

cherries

{This corn. Same as above. :)}

corn

Talk to you Monday!

Fresh Cherry Vanilla Baked Oatmeal

2 Replies

I baked you something warm and comforting.

words

This is a sweet and filling summertime breakfast.

cherries

Baked oatmeal is a go-to comforting recipe. It’s so easy to do and hard to mess up. That’s what I was looking for when I made this.

cherries2

Last week, I attempted a dessert to share with you that went terribly wrong. And I attempted to change up one of my favorite recipes from my mom. It was not a change for the better.

cherries3

Both were edible, but not share-able. We ate both but they left no great impression. That’s why I made this oatmeal.

oats

I needed to make something I knew would be good. I needed something to comfort me. I needed to make something to reassure me, that I can make something good.

beans

This oatmeal did the trick.

ingredients

Cherry + vanilla is one of my all-time favorite combinations. I go crazy for cherry vanilla ice cream. And when I had a cherry vanilla cupcake a few months ago in DC, I couldn’t believe my taste buds. I decided to recreate that cupcake, and my maraschino and vanilla cupcakes are one of the most popular recipes on this site. You just can’t go wrong with cherry and vanilla.

milk

And what better time of the year for cherries. They are gorgeous right now, like little pieces of art. And they taste amazing. I can’t even get over how much I love eating cherries right now.

oatmeal

This oatmeal is simple. Not many ingredients. But it is full of vanilla flavor. It is studded with real vanilla beans, which I think is one of the best flavors, ever. And, I added vanilla extract, to make that vanilla flavor even more amplified. The cherries are mixed right in, at the end, and they become soft and sweet, sort of like in a cherry dessert.

oatmeal1

I think this would be an awesome weekend breakfast, with room for leftovers all week. I hope you enjoy this cherry vanilla baked oatmeal!

Ingredients
3 cups oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk (I used coconut)
1 egg
2 vanilla beans, seeds scraped from the stem
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
1-2 cups of cherries, depending on your preference, pitted

Preheat the oven to 350*.

In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk together well.

In another bowl, combine the milk, egg, vanilla beans seeds, vanilla extract and melted coconut oil. Mix together well.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix until just combined. Gently stir in the cherries.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until firm and slightly golden.

Enjoy!

Notes:
-I enjoyed this oatmeal both warm and cold, with almond milk.
-For directions on how to scrape the seeds from a vanilla bean, see here.