Use Canned Fruit In Favorite Recipes Until Fresh Produce Becomes Available
Dear Laura: We buy all of our canned fruit from a cannery in Hood River, Ore. This is the first year we have bought Bing cherries. They are lovely cherries. I’m wondering if you have any recipes for desserts made with canned Bing cherries, also a recipe for a two-crust pie. I would appreciate anything you can find. - LaRue, Colfax, Wash.
Dear LaRue: Your letter was a timely reminder that canned fruit can help add variety to winter and early spring menus. Here are recipes for a pie, individual cakes and a parfait that can be prepared in minutes for serving even on the busiest of days.
Sweet Cherry Pie
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour or 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch or 2 tablespoons tapioca
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional
Few drops red food coloring, optional
1/2 cup cherry juice, reserved from draining cherries
3 1/2 cup drained canned sweet cherries (about 2 cans 16 1/2-ounce or 1 quart home canned)
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, optional
Favorite pastry for 9-inch double crust pie
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix sugar and flour or other thickener in small saucepan (or microwave-safe container); stir in lemon juice, almond extract, food coloring and cherry juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture boils. (In microwave oven, cook on high power, stirring after each minute, until mixture boils.)
Place drained cherries in pastrylined 9-inch pie pan. Pour hot syrup over fruit; dot with butter, if desired. Cover with top crust; slit to let steam escape. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until crust in nicely browned and filling is bubbly.
Yield: 6 servings.
Individual Cherry Cakes
Recipe courtesy of General Mills and the National Red Cherry Institute.
1 can (16 1/2-ounce) pitted dark sweet cherries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 package golden pound cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 24 medium muffin cups, 2-1/2 by 1 1/2-inch, with paper baking cups. Drain cherries, reserving syrup. Rinse cherries and set aside. Mix cup sugar and the coconut in small bowl; reserve. Prepare cake mix as directed on package.
Fill muffin cups about half full with cake batter; top with 1 or 2 cherries. Spoon remaining batter into cups until about 3/4 full; sprinkle with reserved coconut mixture. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 32 to 37 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before removing from pan; cool.
Add enough water to reserved cherry syrup to measure 1 cup. Mix cup sugar and the cornstarch in small saucepan or microwave-safe container. Gradually stir in syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. (In microwave oven, cook at high power, stirring each minute, until mixture thickens and boils.) Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in vanilla. Carefully remove baking cups; invert 2 cakes onto each serving plate. Serve syrup with cakes.
Yield: 12 servings.
Cook’s Note: When preparing at high altitudes, heat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse cherries and pat dry; set aside. Omit 1/2 cup sugar (sprinkle batter with coconut only). Prepare cake mix as directed in high altitude directions on package. Continue as directed in recipe.
Cherry Macaroon Parfaits
1 cup whipping cream whipped with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar or vanilla ice cream
2 cups crumbled soft macaroon cookies
16- to 17-ounce can dark or light sweet cherries, pitted if necessary and well drained OR 1 1/2 cups halved and pitted fresh or frozen sweet cherries
Layer whipped cream or ice cream, macaroon cookie crumbs and cherries in dessert dishes.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
Dear Laura: I’ve been following your interesting articles for some time and enjoy trying new things. Can you please print a recipe for pickled asparagus? Thank you so very much. - Virginia, Spokane.
Pickled Asparagus
1 medium sweet white onion, thinly sliced
3 to 4 pounds pencil-slim fresh asparagus
1 large sweet red pepper, cut in julienne strips
5 cups white wine vinegar
2 cups water
3 to 4 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons mixed pickling spices
2 teaspoons plain or canning and pickling salt
Place onion slices in bottom of two clean hot quart jars. Cut asparagus in lengths to stand upright in the jars. Pack cut-ends down, placing pepper strips between spears.
Measure vinegar, water, sugar, spices and salt into nonreactive saucepan, bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Pour boiling brine over asparagus, leaving 1/2-inch head space. Adjust lids. Process in boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
Yield: 2 quarts.
Dear Laura: I’ll contribute to Peggy in Mead’s recent request for brownies with pineapple. These brownies were a favorite fruit treat in the overseas years when fresh fruit was not always available for the kids. It was in the 1953 Pillsbury national contest book (I was a newlywed then) credited to Josephine Demarco. It appears to have less cholesterol than the version you printed in February. - Anita, Cheney.
Pineapple Brownies
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup crushed pineapple, well drained
2 squares baking chocolate, melted and cooled
1/2 cup nuts, coarsely chopped
Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
Cream butter, gradually adding sugar and continuing to beat until well creamed. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Beat well.
Blend in dry ingredients; mix thoroughly. Place 1 cup of dough in another bowl. Add the well-drained pineapple; mix well.
To remaining dough, add the melted chocolate and nuts; mix well.
Spread 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate dough in well-greased 9- by 12-inch or equivalent pan. Cover with pineapple dough. Drop remaining chocolate dough by spoonfuls over the pineapple dough; spread carefully to cover.
Bake at 375 degrees 45 to 50 minutes. Cool then cut into bars.
Yield: About 2 1/2 dozen.
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