It's CHERRY Season!

FINALLY, they are here. The beautiful sweet red cherries and the colorful Rainier cherries abound in the stores, and most importantly, at the farm stands and farmers markets. I ventured down to the opening day of the Husum Farmers Market yesterday. I didn't know what to expect. I've been to farmer's markets before, but this is very small town rural WA. It was an intimate gathering. There were 4 tables, two with baked goods, one with flowers, and one with CHERRIES.

I believe in supporting our local merchants, so after 'borrowing' my husband's last $20 bill, I spent half of it buying a loaf of oatmeal honey bread from one baker, a small apple tart from the second, and a big bag of cherries from the Cherry Man, at half the 'sale' price of the grocery stores.

What to do with all these cherries? You can only snack on so many. Thank Gore for the Internet. I found this excellent NW Cherry site, with a fantastic recipe section, including an intriguing pie recipe. I had all ingredients on hand, so that was dessert last night. I skipped the wine sauce (too much sugar for me!) and had a glass of WA syrah with it instead of coffee. An extra indulgence: whipped cream with a touch of Amaretto to enhance the almond flavor in the pie. I will share it with you, dear readers, in case you have an abundance of cherries to enjoy. It may even spur you to go out and buy some. And yes, mine looked JUST like the picture when it came out of the oven.

Handmade Cherry Almond Pie

Yield: 8 servings

1/2 cup sliced almonds, divided
Pastry for 9-inch double crust pie
1 egg, beaten
4 cups pitted Northwest fresh sweet cherries
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons red wine
Red Wine Glaze, optional

Finely chop 1/4 cup almonds. Roll dough* into circle approximately 16 inches in diameter and sprinkle chopped almonds over top; roll gently to imbed nuts in dough. Gently transfer to lightly greased baking sheet lined with parchment paper, if desired. Brush with beaten egg. Mix cherries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt and wine. Spoon cherry mixture onto dough leaving a 4-inch border. Lift edges of dough up and over fruit, leaving a 5-inch circle of cherries showing in the center. Fold in edges of pastry to form a circle. Brush pastry with remaining egg mixture; sprinkle with remaining almonds. Bake at 375°F 30 minutes or until pastry browns and filling bubbles. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. If desired, serve with Red Wine Glaze to drizzle over each serving.

Red Wine Glaze: Combine 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/3 cup red wine, mix well. Makes 3/4 cup.

Nutritional Analysis Per Serving: 475 Cal., 5.6 g pro. 19.2 g fat. (36% Cal from fat), 70.1 g carb. 23 mg chol., 4.1 g fiber, 315 mg. sodium.

*When using packaged, pre-rolled pastry, stack one crust on top of the other and roll to 16 inches.