Cherry Recipes We Adore

Life is just a bowl of cherries…especially when you live in the Yakima Valley!  Don’t let the season pass you by without enjoying sweet (or savory) treats made from cherries straight from the tree.

Northwest Cherry Pico De Gallo Salsa

Submitted via facebook by Aaron Guerra

1/2 lbs of Northwest Cherries pitted and chopped

6 Roma Tomatoes

2 Jalapenos chopped

1 Small Onion

1 Lime

1 tsp of minced garlic

2 tbsp. Chopped Cilantro

1 Anaheim Pepper

1 tsp. Guerra’s Gourmet Natural Seasonings

1tsp of sea salt/pepper

Instructions:

Chop onions, cilantro, garlic, peppers, and squeeze half of lime on ingredients in bowl. Add tomatoes, cherries, Guerra’s Gourmet Seasoning, sea salt, and squeeze other half of lime in bowl. Do not mix ingredients let them sit for 15 – 20 minutes in fridge. When ready to serve mix all ingredients. Serve with tortilla chips, salmon, tacos, or your favorite dish.

Sour Cherry Gin Muddler

Submitted via Facebook by Theresa Adolf

Place three pitted sour cherries and a thin lemon slice in the bottom of a rocks glass. Add half a teaspoon or so of sugar, pound with a muddler or pestle or the handle of a wooden spoon until the cherries are smashed up but not pureed.

Pack the glass with ice and top with gin (use 1 ounce if you are a lightweight, or … See moredouble that for a normal imbiber). Float a teaspoon or two (the more you use, the sweeter the drink will be) of maraschino liqueur on top. If you don’t have maraschino, just skip it and use a little more sugar in the bottom of the glass. If you are the kind of person who has a jar of homemade maraschino cherries in the refrigerator, but are out of the liqueur, just spoon up some of that cherry liquid, though it will be slightly more dilute.

Sip up the drink, and if you want another, just add more gin. The fruit will likely stay powerful enough to stand up to re-boozing.
Yum!

Chocolate Cherry Muffins

Recipe courtesy of stolemomentscooking.com

• 1 3/4 c. flour
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. cinnamon
• 2 T. cocoa powder
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips
• 1/2 c. dried cherries
• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. oil
• 1 egg
• 1 t. vanilla

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, including the chocolate chips and dried cherries.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, egg and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until completely moistened and combined.

3. Pour about 1/3 – 1/2 c. batter into greased or lined muffin tin. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the muffins are done.