Cherry Coconut Milk Smoothie

Breakfast is an important meal of the day as it provides the necessary nutrients and fuel to get us going in the morning. I have never been a big breakfast person though, so instead I often have a power-packed smoothie with fruit, almond milk, sometimes a bit of protein powder and various other delights.

This smoothie might just be one of the tastiest yet. Cherries are coming into season here and that means they are bursting with flavor and affordable too. Of course, pitting cherries is not my favorite activity, but it's well worth the effort when you have a bowl of glistening red cherries to use however you please. They star here in a creamy beverage with coconut milk, some almond milk, frozen banana and a dash of vanilla. Apart from a blender, that is all you need.

Cherry Coconut Milk Smoothie

Recipe by Lisa Turner Published on July 13, 2016 Cold, creamy, delicious and refreshing cherry and banana smoothie made with coconut milk Print this recipe Ingredients: 2/3 cup coconut milk 1/3 cup almond or hemp milk, or more as needed 1 frozen banana, sliced (2/3 cup frozen slices) 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted 1 teaspoon vanilla Instructions: Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Add a bit more almond or hemp milk if the mixture is too thick. Tip: To freeze bananas for smoothies, peel the banana and cut into slices. Place the slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and freeze. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-friendly container or freezer bag. The bananas will freeze well for up to 4 to 6 months. Makes 2 servings

More smoothie recipes to enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen:
Beet and Strawberry Vanilla Smoothie
Avocado Blackberry Smoothie
Raspberry-Banana Oat and Chia Seed Smoothie
Pomegranate & Blueberry Oat Smoothie

Audio Accompaniment: Sam Maher - New York Handpan 01

On the top of the reading stack: The Camp of the Saints

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Cherry Barbecue Sauce Recipe & Giveaway!

I’m happy to once again be participating as a Canbassador. I received some sweet dark red cherries that are as delicious as the season is fleeting. Preserving them is the best way to savor them a little bit longer. Last year I canned some cherries with bourbon. I can’t find the recipe I used and frankly I put the jars so far back in my pantry that I forgot about them until a couple of weeks ago. I just opened the first jar and they turned out to be delicious. I probably got the idea from SweetPreservation.com.

This year I used my cherries to make one batch of cherry pie filling and jars of cherry barbecue sauce. I looked at a couple of recipes, but mostly my recipe is adapted from a recipe from Taste of Home magazine. While the technique is the same, I switched up the seasonings, decreased the sugar and blended it smooth.

The sauce is really good on pulled pork. You can try it with this super easy recipe I developed for preparing it in the slow cooker. But it would also be great on ribs or brisket. It's rich and has just the right balance of tangy and spicy notes--so much better than anything you can buy in the store!

Cherry BBQ Sauce 
Makes about 5 pints

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon mild flavored oil such as canola or rice bran
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups fresh or frozen dark sweet cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup molasses
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon paprika, preferably smoked
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1-2 teaspoons ground black pepper

Instructions

In a large saucepan heat the oil. Add the onion and garlic and cook for five minutes until soft but not brown. Add the remaining ingredients with the exception of the black pepper. Simmer the ingredients for 20 minutes then blend in a blender or using a stick blender, until smooth. Add a teaspoon of pepper and then taste. Add more pepper if desired.

Pour sauce into sterilized pint jars, seal and refrigerate or process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Giveaway! 

As a canbassador I am happy to offer 3 swag bags including a fun cherry branded water bottle, a red Oxo cherry pitter and of course, a big shipment of fresh Northwest cherries! You must have a US mailing address to win. Please leave a comment telling me what you'd like to make with cherries. Please enter your email address in the requested field and NOT in the body of the comment. Winners will be chosen on Friday July 15th.

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION! 

Disclaimer: I received a shipment of cherries and Northwest Cherries is providing the giveaway. I was not monetarily compensated for this or any other post. 

©2016 Cooking with Amy. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Eggless Cherry Clafoutis

          I first tasted fresh cherries only in the US, the dark ones, they tasted so good and from then on, I always bought bags of them during the season. In India, it's difficult to find fresh cherries, and even when you get them, you'll find the red ones which are not that sweet. But nowadays, you can find them in bigger cities, at least I found them in Bangalore. So then, when I got this big box of cherries, apart from eating them as such, I wanted to try out some dishes with it and the first one that came to my mind was this Cherry Clafoutis. I have not tasted Clafoutis, but when browsing randomly, I saw it and for some reason it stuck to my mind. I made it with eggs first to know the taste, then I used custard powder as a replacement for eggs and it turned out good. Since I am not a big fan of eggs in baking especially in puddings and in these kind of dishes, I liked the eggless version better. If you can't find cherries, try it with other berries like strawberries and enjoy..

Need To Have

• All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1/4 cup
• Pitted Cherries - 1 cup
• Granulated Sugar - 8 teaspoons
• Vanilla Custard Powder - 1 tablespoon
• Vanilla Extract - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1/8 teaspoon
• Milk - 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons
• Butter to grease the pan
• Powdered sugar to dust on the top

Original recipe here.

Method

          Add the flour, custard powder, salt, sugar, vanilla extract and milk and blend everything and keep. We have to pre-heat the oven to 175 C.

          Grease a oven-safe pie dish, I have used a cast iron pan, so I heated it on stove top, melted some butter and spread it all over. Now pour a thin layer of batter, place the dish or cast iron pan in the oven for about 4 to 5 minutes, till the layer is set. We should place it in the oven just when it's still getting pre-heated ( half-way through ).

          Now remove the dish, place the cherries all over, then pour the remaining batter and put it back in the pre-heated oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, till the top is completely set and the sides start to turn golden brown. Let it cool a little, slice it, dust the top with the sugar and serve it warm.

Note
If you are using eggs, then use 1 for the above recipe.
Depending upon the sweetness of the cherries, you can add more or less sugar.
8 teaspoons of sugar was just right for us.
Depending upon the dish that we are using for baking, the baking time might vary, just check whether the top is cooked and set and the sides turn golden.