Michigan Cherries - Yum!

My family has vacationed in Michigan for as long as I can remember and each of my Michigan memories involves sweet, juicy summer fruits. Some of the best apples, peaches, blueberries and raspberries I have ever eaten were enjoyed on the walkway along the side of our cottage. It was until I was in college, however, that I discovered plump, tart, succulent dried Michigan cherries. They are my favorite "candy." As an adult no trip up North is complete without a stash of dried cherries to take home. Having just returned from my annual trip I have been savoring these candies, eating them by the handful and in some of my favorite dishes. Here's one of my more successful attempts at incorporating them in a meal.

Chicken Wrap with Blue Cheese, Dried Cherries and Walnuts

1 chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper
2 Tbsp walnut pieces, chopped
2 Tbsp low fat blue cheese crumbles
3 Tbsp roughly chopped dried Michigan cherries
1 Tbsp Maple Grove Farms Strawberry Balsamic dressing
1/4 C baby spinach leaves, tightly packed
1 whole wheat tortilla

Place chicken breast in a grill pan and season with balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until juices run clear. Remove chicken to a cutting board to cool slightly.

Chop chicken breast into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl along with the walnuts, blue cheese crumbles, and cherries. Add dressing; toss to coat.

Arrange spinach leaves down center of tortilla and top with chicken mixture. Roll tortilla like a burrito and enjoy!

Blueberries

When I was a kid Blueberries for Sal was one of my favorite books; to this day, I can't eat a blueberry without feeling nostalgic. Perhaps that's because I have so many other fond memories tied to blueberries - fresh pints sold at the old hotel near our family summer cottage, going picking with my cousins, being taught the most amazing cobbler recipe as an adolescent and the Saturdays of my childhood when my bestfriend's mother served us blueberry muffins right out of the oven. Since the blueberry season is approaching, I've been pulling out some old, and new, recipes to make the best use of this amazingly healthy fruit. Below are two of my favorites:

Blueberry Muffins
3 C of all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
1 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 C vanilla yogurt
1 tsp grated lemon peel
2 C blueberries

Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the grated lemon peel.

Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat. Fold in the berries. If you are using store bought frozen berries, defrost them first, drain the excess liquid, and then coat them in a light dusting of flour. If you are using fresh berries you froze yourself, do not defrost them, add them to the mixture while they are still frozen.

Use a standard 12-muffin muffin pan. Coat each muffin cup lightly with butter or cooking spray. Distribute the batter equally among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve while still warm.

Recipe adapted from Simply Recipes

Blueberry Cobbler

Fruit Mixture:
3 C blueberries
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp butter

Cobbler Dough:
1 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cold butter
1/3 C heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine berries with sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Place fruit mixture in a 1 quart baking dish. Cut the butter into several pieces and scatter over the fruit.

Measure the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into the workbowl of a food processory and pulse twice to sift. Cut the butter into pieces and place on top of the flour; pulse 8-10 times. With the motor running, pour cream through the feed tube. Stop the motor when the dough clumps together.

Turn the dough onto lightly floured surfice and roll to shape the dimensions of the baking dish. Place dough over the fruit mixture. Cut several deep slashes in the dough.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

This recipe was taught to me by a woman for whom I babysat when I was about 14-15 years old. I don't know where she got it, but I cannot claim credit for it. You can also substitute fresh peaches for the blueberries - equally as delicious!