Rainier Cherries Are In Season- No Recipe Required!

Enjoy these sweet Rainier cherries while they are available!

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Rainier Cherries
Here's a short post to encourage you to run out and get your Rainier cherries while they are in season. You may have passed them in the grocery store and wondered what they are. And, you may have walked quickly past them after looking at their price tag. But these beauties are worth trying as they are the sweetest cherry I've ever eaten!

Their price tag reflects how difficult it is to grow these beauties. They are extremely sensitive to heat,  too much rain and gusts of wind. To add insult to injury, the birds eat about a third of the crop!

Born in 1952
This cherry was named after Mount Rainier and was developed by Harold Fogle in Washington State University's breeding program in 1952. But it wasn't available to the general public until eight years later. It is a cross between the Bing and the Van cherry. 

Rainier cherries are beautifully colored in layers of gold with blush tones of pink and red. Washington state is the premier growing region because of its particular climate. But they also grow in other states such as Oregon, Idaho, Utah, New York and California. Some orchards are also found in Canada and Chile.

No Recipe Required
I'm sure you can bake these into pies, or whip them into ice cream or smoothies, but the very best way to eat this delightful fruit is right out of the bowl!

1 cup of these sweet cherries provides:

87 calories

0.5 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat

Zero cholesterol

36 mg omega-3 and 37 mg omega-6 fatty acids

22 g carbohydrates

18 g sugar

3 g dietary fiber 

1.5 g protein

16% RDA vitamin C

So get them while you can. They won't be around long.

Vegan Tart Cherry And Almond Scones

These vegan scones are quick and easy to make.
They are just 127 calories and less than 1g of saturated fat!

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Perfecting the Healthy Scone
I love scones but they are usually made with cream, butter and white flour, all of which I avoid. For some time now I've been trying to perfect a "healthy" scone. Well, I wouldn't regard this recipe as "health food" but, for a scone, it comes pretty darn close.


This recipe features King Arthur's white whole wheat flour which gives the whole grain goodness of wheat with the lightness of white flour. They also contain tart cherries which are high up there on the ORAC scale (6800 per 100 grams), a measurement of the antioxidant capacity of food. Almonds not only give a nice crunch but also contribute manganese and vitamin E. Soy creamer and Earth Balance replace the cream and butter so the scones are free of cholesterol and have only 0.7 grams of saturated fat. These are also low in sugar with only a little over one teaspoon per scone. Bottom line, these delicious breakfast treats weigh in at only 127 calories and provide 2.6 grams of fiber per serving.


Tart Cherry and Almond Whole Wheat Scones
Vegan
[makes 8 scones]


1 cup King Arthur's white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons organic cane sugar plus 1/2 teaspoon for sprinkling
2 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan buttery spread
1/2 cup Silk soy creamer
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped dried tart cherries
3 tablespoons slivered almonds


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly oil a cookie sheet.


Combines flour, baking powder, baking soda and 3 tablespoons of sugar in a medium size mixing bowl.


Using a pastry blender, mix the Earth Balance into the flour mixture.

Mix in until the flour resembles course meal.

Add soy creamer and vanilla and stir with a rubber spatula until flour mixture is moistened. 
Stir in the dried cherries and almonds.

Stir dried cherries and almonds into moistened flour mixture.

Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, scoop 8 scones onto the lightly oiled cookie sheet. 
Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sugar evenly over the scones. (That's 1/2 teaspoon for all 8 scones - it doesn't take much).

Using an ice cream scoop makes this so easy.

Bake until golden brown and tops are firm when gently pressed, about 12 to 15 minutes. 


Remove from oven and serve immediately with vegan cream cheese or low sugar strawberry jam. 


NOTE: The baking time is perhaps the trickiest thing in this recipe. If you bake them for too short a period of time they are doughy but even a minute too long will make them too brown so play around with it until you figure out your oven. It may take a few tries but you'll enjoy each attempt!

Experiment with other dried fruits and nuts.

VARIATION: You can also make these with other dried fruits such as raisins, dried cranberries, apricots or prunes. Try other nuts too such as English walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans or cashews. 
I've nearly perfected the gluten free version of this so stand by!