FRESH SUMMA TREAT!

This week I visited my local market that is down right AH-MAZING!!  I frequent this place on the regular.  Even though the smell and location are not the greatest their produce sure is!  They have fresh produce from farmer's in the area for pennies on the dollar!  Well worth the trek if you ask me!  

I swung by Monday to get my fix of freshness and goodness-- start the week off on the right foot if you know what I mean! I went a little overboard this time- whoops!  What does one do when they purchase an abundance of produce and know it will go bad -- BAKE!!!  I baked up a storm last night and had to use a wee bit of imagination!  After much research and tummy consulting I decided that a peach and cherry crumble is just what the doctor ordered!  I'm not sure how many of you have worked with fresh cherries when baking but boy it's no field trip!!  Those little tiny itty-bitty pits are tricky little things!!! I searched high and low for this little device known as a "cherry pitter".  Again for those of you who have not worked with them, they make working with cherries a breeze. They essentially send this little pick through the cherry that forces the pit out the other end. Well seems to me that they don't make those around these parts either that or everyone under the sun up here decided to bake with cherries this week- doubtful!!  That is where some internet hunting and imagination came in to play! Drum role.... the end of a pencil!!  Couldn't be easier! It pops those little stubborn suckers right on out!! I removed the eraser from a pencil, sanitized it of course, and pushed the pits right on out! SHEWW it took some time but all the effort was well worth it!! I decided to combine two recipes to incorporate all my favorite ingredients.

CHERRY and PEACH CRUMBLE:

2 cups fresh cherries pitted and halved

3 medium sized peaches pealed and sliced

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp of cornstarch

1/3 c of granulated sugar

Crumble ingredients:

2/3 c all-purpose flour

3/4 c brown sugar

pinch of salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

4 1/2 tbsp butter (little over a half of stick)

little sprinkle of nuts on top (optional) makes it look pretty :)

 

Combine fruits, lemon juice, cornstarch, and sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Making sure the ingredients are fully incorporated. In a small bowl stir together the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Once combined add the butter, blending the mixture until it's clumpy.  Spread fruit mixture into a 13X9 baking dish and sprinkle crumble mixture on top.  Finish with nuts on top.  Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes until crumble mixture on top is a golden brown.

Highly suggest serving it with ice cream- its a crowd-pleaser!!