Time is ripe

‘Tis the season when Inland Northwest flavors come to life. Over the next few weeks, cars will begin streaming up to Green Bluff and area farmers’ markets likely will be hopping with shoppers – all because of a few colorful orbs. Some of the region’s most prized gems are ripening on trees and bushes, and eager pickers are starting to score plenty of sweet or tangy cherries and berries.

Strawberry season began a few weeks ago, and cherry and raspberry picking on Green Bluff has just begun. Soon blackberries will ripen and the much-coveted huckleberries will dot the mountain bushes.

It’s a heavenly time for just relaxing outdoors, popping fresh-picked cherries and berries in your mouth. But, even the most avid fruit lovers will grow tired of the gems long before they are all gone.

That’s when you have to get creative with what you do with the fruit. Just ask Ronda Bosma.

Bosma, who owns and operates Cherry Hill farm on Green Bluff with her husband, can tick off plenty of ways to use up cherries. She’s learned from experience that even when she “shares” her cherries with the birds, there are plenty left for her family.

From pies to chutney, Bosma is always trying new recipes. Last year she made a jam with Rainier cherries and raspberries. It was so good, she plans to try the combination in a pie this year. “I figure if it’s good in jam, it’ll be good in pie,” she said.

Some fresh cherries go into salsas and chutneys while cherries that she’s frozen blend perfectly into her kids’ smoothies.

And Bosma makes her food dehydrating machine work overtime. “I love to dehydrate the Bing and use them just like Craisins in salad. At Thanksgiving, I put them in my stuffing,” Bosma said. The dried fruit can be tossed by the handful into muffin and bread batter, cereals and homemade trail mix.

Though they each pack their own unique flavor, cherries and berries often work interchangeably in recipes.

Jane Deitz grows raspberries, blackberries and tayberries for picking at Bodacious Berries & Fruit on Green Bluff. Because she’s always so busy this time year, she simply freezes the fruits until winter when she had more time to make her jams, jellies, pies and more.

One of her family’s favorite ways to use raspberries is to let frozen raspberries drain in a sieve or colander set over a bowl, occasionally pressing the juice out of the berries with a back of spoon. She then mixes equal parts raspberry juice and ginger ale for a refreshing sparkling drink. She says the extracted raspberry juice also makes a good syrup and a good jelly for those who don’t like the seeds in typical raspberry preserves.

She and a daughter have made raspberry vinegar as well. “It’s fun to give as a gift,” she said.

Others use the berries to make flavored liqueurs.

At Hill’s Resort on Priest Lake, huckleberries are king. Chef Scott Hill said he tries to use local products in season. “So when huckleberries come on we just try to use them in whatever we can.”

In addition to the popular huckleberry pie, huckleberry ice cream and huckleberry cheesecake, Hill makes a Huckleberry Merlot Sauce that he says is wonderful with wild game (recipe follows).

If you go to pick the fruits or buy them at your local farmers’ market, be sure to ask for recipes. Most growers have recipes they’re willing to share, and many keep copies handy for that reason.

Here are few recipes to get you started:

Any Berry Pie

From Jane Deitz, Bodacious Berries, Green Bluff

This basic recipe works well with just about any berry or combination of berries, Deitz says. The original recipe called for huckleberries and was given to her from Molly Hively.

1 cup of berry juice

1 cup sugar

7 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 to 6 cups berries (depending on the size of pie you want)

2-crust piecrust

Combine berry juice, sugar and cornstarch in medium saucepan set over medium heat; bring to a boil. Stir until thickened and then add lemon juice. Remove from heat and fold in berries. Spoon berries into piecrust bottom and place top crust over. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.

Yield: 1 (8- or 10-inch) pie

Approximate nutrition per serving using 4 cups of berries, calculated using strawberry juice and raspberries, based on 8 servings:

373 calories, 14.3 grams fat (3.5 grams saturated, 34 percent fat calories), 3.3 grams protein, 60 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 4.95 grams dietary fiber, 218 milligrams sodium.

Cherry Berry Smoothie

From Ronda Bosma, Cherry Hill, Green Bluff

1 1/2 cups frozen pitted Bing cherries

1 1/2 cups whole frozen strawberries

1 1/2 cups cran-cherry juice

Blend all together.

Yield: 2 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving (using cran-raspberry juice): 233 calories, 1.4 grams fat (5 percent fat calories), 2.15 grams protein, 57 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 5 grams dietary fiber, 4.7 milligrams sodium.

Bosma’s Cherry Salsa

From Ronda Bosma, Cherry Hill, Green Bluff

1 cup sweet cherries, pitted

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons finely chopped green peppers

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/8 teaspoon salt

Dash of bottled hot pepper sauce

Chop cherries in food processor or by hand. Combine all ingredients; mix well. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Yield: 2 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 56 calories, less than 1 gram fat (16 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 13 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 150 milligrams sodium.

Huckleberry Merlot Sauce

From Chef Scott Hill, Hill’s Resort at Priest Lake

We grill caribou over Mesquite hardwood charcoal and brush it with garlic butter, sprinkle it with salt and pepper and serve it with this sauce:

1/2 cup huckleberries

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Olive oil

1/2 cup merlot, or other red wine

1/4 cup demi glace (reduced beef stock)

1 ounce butter

Saute huckleberries, shallot and garlic in a little olive oil for 1 minute. Add red wine and reduce by half. Add demi glace. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper andbutter.

Yield: About 1 cup

Approximate nutrition per 2-ounce serving: Unable to calculate.

Grilled Salmon Cherry Sauce

From Ronda Bosma, Cherry Hill, Green Bluff

3 cups pitted sweet cherries

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

In large saucepan, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring frequently. Serve over grilled salmon.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 92 calories, less than 1 gram fat (10 percent fat calories), 1 gram protein, 19 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 1.8 grams dietary fiber, 196 milligrams sodium.

Huckleberry Crumble

From The Spokesman-Review’s Dorothy Dean Homemaker Services, F-31 Series

Batter and filling:

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups sifted flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon grated orange rind, optional

1 to 1 1/2 cups huckleberries, fresh or frozen

Crumble topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter

For batter, cream shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Sift dry ingredients. Add to creamed mixture alternating with milk, blending after each addition. Stir in vanilla and orange rind. Fold in berries. Pour batter into greased 9-inch square pan.

To make crumble, combine all ingredients and mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter in pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

Yield: 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 440 calories, 14 grams fat (6 grams saturated, 29 percent fat calories), 5 grams protein, 74 grams carbohydrate, 70 milligrams cholesterol, 1.4 grams dietary fiber, 440 milligrams sodium.

Shortbread Cookies with Fresh Cream and Fruit

From “Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection: Tarts & Pastries”

This easy-to-assemble dessert is a wicked union of sweet red fruits and luscious whipped cream, anchored in rounds of lemon-tinged shortbread cookies.

Shortbread cookies:

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for preparing pans

1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Vanilla extract

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Filling:

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sugar, to taste

1 cup assorted red fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries and red currants

1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, to dust

Brush two baking sheets with melted butter and refrigerate. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. To make the pastry, beat the butter and sugar until pale and smooth. Stir in the rind and a few drops of vanilla. Gradually add the beaten egg, beating well after each addition. Add the flour in one batch and stir until combined: the mixture will be very soft and sticky.

Divide the mixture in half. Roll out each portion 1/8 -inch thick between two sheets of well-floured waxed paper, working quickly and lightly. Place on the baking sheets with the waxed paper attached. Refrigerate until firm.

Slide the pastry off the sheets onto a work surface. Remove the top piece of paper, dip a 3 1/2 -inch fluted cookie cutter in flour and cut three cookies per serving. Ease the cookies off the bottom sheet of waxed paper onto the baking sheets and pierce with a fork. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden; cool briefly before removing from the baking sheet to cool on a rack.

To make the filling, pour the cream into a bowl, add the vanilla, and sugar to taste. Whisk into soft peaks. (Do not overwhisk as the cream will overthicken and separate.) Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a star nozzle.

To assemble, pipe some cream onto the middle of a cookie; arrange some fruit around the cream (but not over the edge). Top with another cookie, repeat with more cream and fruit, then top with a third cookie. Dust with the sifted confectioners’ sugar. Finish the remaining rounds, reserving some fruit. Transfer to serving plates and decorate with reserved fruit.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per 1/6 recipe: 799 calories, 51 grams fat (31 grams saturated, 57 percent fat calories), 9.2 grams protein, 77 grams carbohydrate, 180 milligrams cholesterol, 3.2 grams dietary fiber, 28 milligrams sodium.

Chef Mark Day’s Snow Pea and Berry Salad

From “The Farm Market Cookbook”

Generous 1/4 pound crisp snow peas

1/2 pint raspberries

2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pint blueberries

Steam the snow peas until they are a bright translucent green. Do not overcook. Rinse immediately under cold water to set the color and stop the cooking.

To make the dressing, press a heaping tablespoon of the raspberries through a sieve. Add the vinegar to the raspberry puree, then the olive oil, sugar and salt and pepper.

Place the snow peas and blueberries in a bowl and add the dressing. Turn gently. Add the remaining raspberries and again gently turn the ingredients. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings

Approximate nutrition per 1/4 recipe: 123 calories, 7.3 grams fat (less than 1 gram saturated, 54 percent fat calories), 1.6 grams protein, 15 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 5.9 grams dietary fiber, 77 milligrams sodium.

Cherry-Almond Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks

From “Brilliant: Food Tips and Cooking Tricks”

Rinse 1 pound of firm, ripe Bing cherries. Pull off stems, cut in half and pit. Combine in a large bowl with 3/4 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons amaretto liqueur, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Cover and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Stir in 2 cups light cream and 1 cup heavy cream. Freeze in an ice cream make according to manufacturer’s directions. Add 4 ounces coarsely chopped semisweet chocolate, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze.

Yield: About 1 1/2 quarts

Approximate nutrition per 1/2 -cup serving: 314 calories, 23 grams fat (14 grams saturated, 66 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 27 grams carbohydrate, 71 milligrams cholesterol, 1.3 grams dietary fiber, 22 milligrams sodium.

Berry Ice

From The Spokesman-Review’s Dorothy Dean Homemaker Services

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups crushed berries

1/4 cup orange juice

Boil the water and sugar for 5 minutes. Chill, then add to the berries which have been put through a ricer or crushed very fine and mixed with the orange juice. Freeze at low temperature. The ice will be extra smooth if stirred after it is about half frozen.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 218 calories, less than 1 gram fat, less than 1 gram protein, 56 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, 2.8 grams dietary fiber, 1.8 milligrams sodium.