This innovative sandwich makes an easy lunch or light dinner.

1 /2 cup nonfat lemon yogurt
1 Tbsp honey Dijon-style mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
3/ 4 tsp curry powder
1 /4 tsp salt
1 /4 tsp coarsely ground pepper
1 1 /2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken (8 oz)
1 cup FruitFast dried tart cherries
1 /2 cup seeded and finely chopped cucumber
1 /3 cup shredded carrot
1 /4 cup sliced green onions
8 (10-inch) whole wheat flour tortillas or tomato flavored flour tortillas

Stir together yogurt, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, curry powder, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Gently stir in chicken, cherries, carrot, cucumber and green onions.

Mound about 3 /4 cup chicken mixture just below center of each tortilla. Fold in sides, just covering edges of chicken mixture. Roll up from one side, jelly roll fashion. Serve seam side down on a plate.

Yield: Four servings.

The end of the National Cherry Festival would not be complete without, of course, the CHERRY PIE.  Cherry pie is to Traverse City, as Apple pie is to America.  The tradition of baking a cherry pie for the festival began in 1926 when Hawkins Bakery in Traverse City baked a pie weighing 42 pounds and contained more than 5000 cherries.  This pie was then presented to President Coolidge.    In 1987 the “Cherry Capital of the World” entered the Guinness Book of World Records when the world’s largest pie was baked and presented at the festival.  The pie was 17 feet 6 inches and weighed 28,350 pounds.   Of course, you do not need that big of a pie pan, nor that many cherries to create your own delicious dessert.  Here is our recipe for a simple cherry pie your family is sure to enjoy.

A FESTIVE CHERRY PIE
To make this pie super simple, purchase a package of refrigerated pie dough.
Ingredients:
4 cups unsweetened tart cherries
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 Tbsp quick-cooking tapioca or cornstarch
1/2 tsp almond extract
1—15 oz package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
2 Tbsp butter
Cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400-degrees.  Roll 1 (9-inch) dough portion into an 11 inch circle.  Fit the dough circle into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray.
Filling:  Combine cherries, sugar, tapioca and almond extract in a large mixing bowl; mix well.  Let cherry mixture stand for 15 minutes.  Fill the pie plate with cherry mixture.  Dot with butter.  Roll the remaining 9-inch dough portion into a 12-inch circle.
Place over top of the pie filing, cut slits for steam to escape, or cut the dough into 12 (1-inch wide) strips; arrange in a lattice pattern over the cherry mixture.  Fold edges under, crimp.  Bake for 20 minutes, then shield the edges of the piecrust with foil.  Bake an additional 30-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and filling is thick and bubbly.  Cool on a wire rack.

Yield:  Eight servings

National Cherry Festival, the highlight of Traverse City’s summer is here again. This week we celebrate the 82nd year of this tradition. It began in 1926 as the “Blessing of the Blossoms Festival” to promote the region and the cherry business. In 1931 the state legislature passed a resolution making it a national celebration and it was renamed the National Cherry Festival, and this summer celebration has taken place every year with the exception of the WWII era (1942-1948) when the festival was suspended.
The highlight of the festival is the Cherry Royale Parade which draws over 300,000 attendees. It is the largest parade in the Midwest. During this week it is all about cherries and we here at FruitFast and Brownwood Acres are all about cherries. This week I will be bringing you some great recipes that will, of course, be “all about cherries”.
My favorite memories of summer in Traverse City have always been the Cherry Festival. I look forward to the parades, ice cream socials, and all the other events that turn this quiet little town into a crazy frenzy of activity for seven days. Another favorite memory is the cookies my brother would make for us, the simple “No Bake Cookie”. Many people enjoy this recipe. I do not know where it originated, but it is by far a family favorite. This twist gives the cookie an upbeat taste, while adding a little fruit for good measure.

Cherry Chocolate No Bake Cookies
2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1 /2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups oatmeal (1 minute quick oats)
3/4 cups dried cherries
Wax paper

It is best to have all ingredients measured out and prepared to go as this cookie sets quickly.
Combine the sugar, butter, cocoa and milk in a saucepan. Stir to melt the butter and incorporate all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil; remove the saucepan from the stove. Stir in the peanut butter and stir until melted. Add vanilla and dried cherries; stir to blend. Fold in oatmeal, one cup at a time. Stir until covered with chocolate mixture. Drop by large spoonful onto wax paper. Let cool. Watch these disappear, they will soon become your family favorite.

Yield: 24-30 cookies

With the National Cherry Festival well underway, our local orchards have begun the process of harvesting cherries.  It all began in 1852 with the planting of the first cherry orchard by Peter Dougherty (a Presbyterian missionary) on the Old Mission Peninsula in Grand Traverse County.   The sandy soil, rolling hills, and protection by the Grand Traverse Bay provided the perfect conditions to allow the cherry trees to flourish.   Other orchards followed, and by the 1900’s, the cherry industry was in full swing, with Traverse City building the first processing facility.  The sweet cherries are harvested first, followed shortly by tart cherries.

As the harvesting begins, fruit stands selling cherries pop up everywhere and it seems everyone gets in the act.  It is such a short season and the fruit is so delicious, that we here in the industry want to provide cherry lovers with all the goodness of this fruit year round.  That means somehow preserving the best of what this region has to offer.  We at FruitFast and Brownwood Acres have done this by producing our Cherryflex Softgels, FruitFast Cherryflex Supplement Bars, FruitFast Tart Cherry Juice Concentrate, Brownwood Farms dried cherries, chocolate covered cherries, to name a few.

As I was looking over the fresh display of sweet cherries at my local fruit stand, I was contemplating into what recipe I could incorporate these purple beauties.  I remembered a recipe I recently found in the July 2008  issue of “Cooking Light.”  Cherry Crisp is a fresh fruit dessert normally made with tart cherries.  This recipe is made using sweet Bing cherries with a little lemon juice added.  It is best served warm—and I’m thinking ice cream may also be a part of this equation.    So get out there, go to your local fruit market and whip this tasty favorite for this evening’s dessert.

CHERRY CRISP

FILLING:
6 cups (about 2 Lbs) sweet cherries, pitted
1/3 cup sugar
1 /4 cup cornstarch
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 /4 tsp. almond extract
1/8 tsp. salt
Cooking spray

TOPPING:

1 /2 cup all-purpose flour
1 /2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 /2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 11 x 7 baking dish with cooking spray.   Combine the filling ingredients in a large bowl; toss gently.  Spoon the cherry mixture into the baking dish.
Combine the first four ingredients of the topping mix in a bowl.  Stir to mix.  Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Stir in the almonds.  Sprinkle over the fruit mixture.  Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is crisp.

Yield:  Eight servings

Make any cookie a “superfruit” cookie by adding dried cherries, blueberries and cranberries.

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup trans-fat-free 67% vegetable oil butter spread, chilled
1/4 cup dried tart cherries, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried wild blueberries

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Stir together all-purpose and whole wheat flours, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Cut in butter spread until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cherries, cranberries and blueberries.

Form dough into ball and knead 5 times or until smooth and holds together without crumbling. Form dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Bake cookies in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are firm. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Nutrition Info:
Nutrition Facts per cookie: 77 calories, 4 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 9 g carbohydrate, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g protein, 1 g fiber, 60 mg sodium; Daily Values: 6% vitamin A, 0% vitamin C, 0% calcium, 2% iron.

2 6 oz. containers of low-fat vanilla yogurt

1 /2 cup assorted fruit (your choice) chopped

3 Tbsp. FruitFast Liquid Fruit Supplement (Cherryflex, Mixed Berry, or Pomegranate)

Chopped nuts (optional)

Chocolate chips (optional)

Assorted fruit garnish (optional)

Small plastic storage container, Dixie cups, or cupcake pan liner

In a bowl combine ingredients above, mix well. Pour in plastic containers, Dixie Cups, or cupcake tin lined with paper inserts.

Freeze overnight. If using Dixie cups or cupcake liners, place frozen yogurt treats in a freezer bag until ready to serve. If using plastic storage containers, seal with the lid.

Use your imagination on this recipe. Try combining cherry yogurt with FruitFast Liquid Cherryflex and chopped fresh cherries and chocolate chips. Garnish with fresh fruit.

Combine yogurt with FruitFast Mixed Berry Liquid, strawberries, blueberries and/or raspberries; add walnuts and or chocolate chips.

Garnish with fresh fruit.

With the FruitFast Pomegranate Liquid use a low fat lemon or lime sorbet, add bananas.

Using low-fat vanilla yogurt add 1 Tbsp. orange juice, 1 Tbsp. honey, add papayas and kiwi.

Garnish with fresh fruit.

To serve, place a yogurt frozen fruit treat on a purchased Pitzelle wafer cookie, or serve in purchased waffle bowls.

Yield: Four 1/ 2 cup servings.

1—12 ounce can frozen lemonade

2 liters sparkling water or lime flavored sparkling water

5 Tbsp FruitFast Cherryflex Liquid Supplement

2 limes

Prepare lemonade according to package directions; substitute the sparkling water for the regular water in directions. If using unflavored sparkling water, add the juice from 1 lime. Stir in the FruitFast Cherryflex Liquid Supplement. Serve over ice and garnish with lime slices.

We recently received an email from a faithful customer with a recipe for low glycemic cherry gelatin.  We are very excited to bring you this recipe because it’s ideal for people on a low glycemic diet.  Note the recipe has a substitute of  honey for agave nectar, if you use honey, the recipe will not be low glycemic.

If you, family or friends have recipes you would like to share using any of our products or a favorite dish, please feel free to email me at debbie@fruitfast.com.

Brownwoodacres Fruit Concentrate Gelatin

5-1/2 cups water

2-1/2 Tbsp. beef gelatin; Kosher (for non Kosher can use Knox gelatin)

1/2 cup agave nectar or honey (if using honey, the recipe will not be low glycemic)

2/3 cup Brownwood Acres Fruit Concentrate

Heat 5-1/2 cups of water until warm, about 3-5 minutes.  Add gelatin to warm water.  Using a wire wisk stir until clear.  And the agave nectar and the Brownwood Acres Fruit Concentrate.  Continuing stirring until well mixed.  When cool put in refrigerator to set; over night is best.

2 cups fresh or frozen tart cherries, pitted

¼ cup honey

1 Tbsp rum

1 tsp grated orange peel

¼ tsp dried crushed marjoram

¼ tsp dried crushed thyme

3/4 cup water

2 Tbsp FruitFast Cherryflex Liquid Supplement

½ cup orange juice

1 tsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

Prepare game hens or other meat (chicken or pork). While meat is cooking prepare the cherry sauce. Combine cherries, honey, rum, water, orange peel, and spices in a medium saucepan. Mix well and bring to a boil over medium heat. Combine orange juice and cornstarch; mix until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture and continue cooking until thickened. Stir in FruitFast Cherryflex Liquid until thoroughly mixed. Serve over cooked meat.

Yield 6 servings.