You know what’s good with greek yogurt and cereal the day after 4th of July?
Leftover Cherry Crumble. Oh, yes. Very good.
The Cherry Crumble was one of the recipes I developed with the beautiful cherries Whole Foods sent my way last week.
Cherry Fest is in full swing at Whole Food right now and the produce section is stuffed full of delicious sweet cherries just begging to be eaten.
I actually had two recipes in mind when I picked these babies up – one sweet and one savory. The sweet was the Cherry Crumble and the savory was a Cherry, Kale, Feta, and Quinoa Salad that was a HUGE hit at last night’s 4th of July party (it’s all gone!). But before I could do anything with the cherries, I had one problem – the pits.
Does anyone else tend to shy away from cooking with fresh cherries simply because pitting the cherries can be an annoyingly time consuming task? I know that I usually hate it. That’s why when I picked up the cherries, I also picked up one of these bad boys.
It’s a cherry/olive pitter and it was about $10 at the Target above Whole Foods. I’m sure the pitter will become one of those tools that I’ll only use once or twice a year and will simply take up space in a random drawer the rest of the time (like my strawberry slicer and pineapple corer), but it was 100% worth the purchase with the three bags of cherries I had to pit. 100% worth it.
All i had to do was remove the stem and place the cherry in the center of the pitter
Squeeze the pitter
And out popped the pit
I was left with a pit-less cherry that looked like a tiny bullet had cleared right through it. Pretty nifty, right?
Even with the pitter, it still took 30+ minutes to pit all 3 pounds of sweet cherries for the crumble.
But the process was pretty mindless. Derek actually helped by removing the stems on all the cherries, and we had Facetime set up on his iPhone so we could talk to his brother in Maryland while we pitted (Tyler was actually cleaning on his end, so it was a big party of watching each other do chores on Facetime. π )
I started with the crumble first and used the two bags of the darker, sweet cherries. I’m not 100% sure what the exact poundage was for the cherries, so you’ll have to bear with me on my cherry estimates for this recipes.
Cherry Crumble
Ingredients
Cherry Filling:
- 3 lbs of fresh sweet cherries, pitted (about 2 bags worth)
- 1 tablespoon corn starch
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
Crumble Topping:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 stick of butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 375.
For the filling, start by adding the cherries to a large pot on medium-low.
Coat the cherries with the corn starch, sugar, lemon, and water, then slowly cook on medium-low for 15-20 minutes, or until the cherries have started to break down and are nice and juicy.
While the cherries are breaking down, place all of the crumble topping ingredients in a separate bowl and mix together until combined (should be slightly doughy, yet crumbly).
When the cherries are done, pour them into a 2 quart dish and top with with the crumble mix.
Bake for 35 minutes at 375, or until the crumble topping is a golden brown.
Can be served hot with ice cream or it’s good cold on it’s own.
Also, like I said above, the leftovers make a killer greek yogurt topping in the morning. π
The Rainier cherries are a little milder in flavor, so I knew they would make a great addition to the savory dish I was dreaming up.
Once the Cherry Crumble was out of the oven, I broke the pitter back out and got to work on dish #2.
Cherry, Kale, Feta, and Quinoa Salad
- 2 cups quinoa
- 4 cups water
- 1 lb Rainier Cherries, pitted and diced ( or any cherries, I just thought the Rainiers were nice in this dish)
- 3 cups fresh kale
- 1 red onion, diced
- 1 cup feta cheese
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon fresh oregano
- salt and pepper
Start by bringing the 4 cups of water and 2 cups of quinoa to a boil. Then bring down to medium-low and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
In a separate pan, saute the onion in a little bit of olive oil. Once the onions are translucent, add the kale, cherries, thyme, and oregano. Cook for about 5 minutes.
Remove the veggies from the heat. Combine with the quinoa, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and feta until everything is well mixed. Place the salad in the fridge for 2 hours. Serve cold.
This was a hit at the party yesterday. We arrived with a HUGE container of it and left with enough for one or two servings. I was hoping to have the leftovers for lunch today, but Derek beat me to it and had the rest last night after we got home.
What was your favorite 4th of July dish from yesterday’s festivities?
My friend Anthony just sent me his recipe for the moroccan carrots he brought yesterday. I think that one wins for my favorite ( after the Cherry Crumble, of course π ).
I love cherries – so summery! that crumble looks freaking amazing!
I indulged in some german chocolate cake last night during the fireworks- prob my fav dish of the day π
Kait – @runkaitrun recently posted..July the 4th
I love cherries, but I just can’t imagine liking that quinoa dish. The cherry crumble on the other hand, looks amazing.
Has Derek always been a good eater? My boyfriend and I are total opposites when it comes to food. If I made that quinoa salad he would turn his nose up at it without even trying it! Do you ever have to use tricks with your guy to get him to eat something new?
Steph recently posted..Fireworks
Derek is really open to anything, as long as it doesn’t have a funny texture. Quinoa is a pretty basic grain so he has no problem eating it. It’s like rice to him and he loves rice. I’m not sure what the trick is besides staying away from funny textures. Maybe start with baby steps and using quinoa in a fried-rice type dish in place of the rice?
Minus the feta, that salad sounds amazing! I’m just not a huge fan of feta. I know, I know, I’m weird. Do you think it would still be good without it? Or is the feta a key ingredient?
Kristen @ notsodomesticated recently posted..Trying new things.
I think it would be! I was actually planning on leaving it out when I thought one of our vegan friends would be at the party. It was only when she canceled that I threw it in.
Thanks for your response! Now I need to get myself a cherry pitter, so I can try this salad out!
Yum, I cannot wait to make the quinoa dish!
Lindsey recently posted..Gloomy Day Supper
ahhh I need a cherry pitter! I’ve been cutting them in half and then biting out the pit… Lol only allowed since I only cook for myself. This would become an issue if I ever shared my food… haha
Katie @ Peace Love & Oats recently posted..Thursday Thoughts
I too adore my pineapple corer and strawberry huller that rarely gets used. Valuable gadgets even if scarcely used! I wish I liked cherries because those look AMAZING! I didn’t leave my house all day yesterday so it was a pint of Mint Galactica Coconut Milk Ice-Cream and baked potatoes for me. Sometimes I really don’t understand my cravings!
That crumble was seriously the jam! I had 1 too many servings of it I think. Sooo good!. And I think I definitely need to invest in one of those handy cherry tools!
Mary @ food and fun on the run recently posted..My 1st Blogiversary
I neeeeeeeeeeeeed a cherry pitter in my life!
Cait’s Plate recently posted..Fun, Beauty and Pancakes
I don’t like cherries…. π
But I do like any other berry crumble!
Annette @FitnessPerks recently posted..Crockpot Turkey Lentil Chili + 4th Recap
Both of those recipes look delicious! I will definitely try the quinoa salad, I wouldn’t have thought of using cherries in there.
Meghan @ Run With Meg recently posted..No Music Miles
The cherry crumble looks amazing!! Definitely need to get my hands on a cherry pitter though
danielle@eatingrunningliving recently posted..Summer on the farm
i want to make that cherry crumble RIGHT now. well, just as soon as i get a cherry pitter, which might have to wait until i decide which other “junk drawer” inhabitant is no longer a necessity π
Molly recently posted..spiced pork tenderloin and summer corn
I’ve been loving cherries lately! I can’t wait to try the quinoa dish!
Lindsay @ Running the Windy City recently posted..A Beachy Fourth
Aww the crumble sounds delicous! I may be British but I went to a 4th of July themed fashion show yesterday and the best food there was minin cupcakes with cream cheese and chive frosting. However the winner of the day has to be my Cookie Monster milkshake!! I can’t imagine what it would oof been like without that pitter!
Robyn recently posted..Think Globally Act Locally
I’m in cherry heaven right now! I love cherries and had a recipe all picked out yesterday to make. Except when I got to the fridge to get the cherries, I realized they were all gone! Cherries don’t last long around here. Oh well, time to buy more to try your recipes now!
Angela @ Happy Fit Mama recently posted..Mezamashii Project
Both of those recipes sound amazing! The cherry pitter looks totally worth it and I bet you end up using it more than you think you will.
Laura @ sweatingforit recently posted..Ombre Tan Line
Yum. It’s cherry festival next week at my home town and I’m missing it this year. I’m super bummed I won’t be eating any yummy cherry treats
Sarah K recently posted..Unashamed Movie Viewing
Wow, both of those recipes look pretty awesome!
Emily N recently posted..Running Encouragement
I am so jealous of your cherry pitter actually! Haha.
My roommate and I spent forever trying to cut open cherries and take out the pits one by one.
That cherry crumble looks awesome π
Sarah @ Learning to Feed Yourself recently posted..4th of July saved by pie
That salad looks amazing! I’m adding it to next week’s menu rotation ASAP! I’ll have to be sure to get a cherry pitter–I usually just eat them straight out of the bag, but I always seem to mistakenly buy olives with pits, so I know it will come in handy. π
Allison @ Running Through Red Lights recently posted..Canβt Stop
I’ve never seen a cherry pitter before! That is so cool! I usually resort to buying cherry glaze which is awful for you (but tasty nonetheless hehe). My favorite July 4th recipe is 7 Cup Salad (celery, lettuce, peas, onions, a little bacon, and a dressing with pimentos)β¦I promise it tastes really good all together! π
Kalee recently posted..Overcoming Fear β The Drive Fear Has On Your Health, Goals, & Choices
Never would have thought of putting cherries and kale together – interesting combination! Might be a good way to actually convince me to eat kale, haha.
I could definitely use one of those little pitter contraptions – I adore cherries, but never cook or bake with them because there’s no way I’m putting that much time into attempting to pit them.
Sam @ Better With Sprinkles recently posted..Get βUr Greens
Are you going to share the carrot recipe?!!?
laura recently posted..What Iβm loving Wednesday and a small change
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