Cure for the summertime blues: sweet berries, juicy cherries

  • By Sue Ade
  • Tuesday, August 2, 2016 5:16pm
  • LifeFood

Every time I market these days, there they are – beautiful berries and chubby, sweet-looking cherries. Whether I have a supply or not, they are so enticing that I bring home more. The prices have been good, too, but even as they fluctuate upward, the cost is still far less than a myriad of foods we select as ingredients, or for out of hand snacking.

With their numerous good-for-you-advantages, such as being fat-free, high in Vitamin C and fiber and – according to the experts – full of powerful health-promoting antioxidant nutrients, it is practically just plain wrong to pass them up when offered fresh.

In summer, I often serve Aunt Georgina’s Fresh Blueberries and Cream Cheese Pie to family and friends. As a remedy for the summertime blues, when the heat is unrelenting and suffocating, this luscious cream cheese pie is powerful medicine. There are select recipes that readers practically gush over – this is one of them.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

And, what kid or adult doesn’t feel better after eating ice cream? For grownups only, the Brandied Cherry-Vanilla Ice Cream is a bona fide mood booster. Containing a good dose of alcohol, the cherries will keep in a tightly sealed jar, in the refrigerator, for months and months. If you can keep yourself from eating them all, come the holidays, no better cherries will you find for making a celebratory dessert like Cherries Jubilee.

For some folks, oppressive heat is not a problem, but for others it is cause for misery, depression and general crankiness. Purchased over the counter, sweet blueberries and juicy cherries can be a cure for that, but don’t wait too long. Berry and cherry season will soon end and fresh refills are limited.

food writer with broad experience and interest in the culinary arts. She has worked and resided in the Lowcountry of South Carolina since 1985 and may be reached at kitchenade@yahoo.com.

 

More in Life

Virginia Walters (Courtesy photo)
Life in the Pedestrian Lane: AI or not?

AI is here to stay, for better or worse, and we have to recognize that there are limitations to its usefulness.

Gluten-free baked goods are often dry and unsatisfying, but these cakes are moist and sweet. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Goodness without gluten

These cakes are moist, sweet, and honestly the best gluten-free cake I have ever made.

This is the most famous photograph of Steve Melchior, as a copy of it resides in the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. The Melchior family owns a very similar photograph, with a note in pencil from Steve Melchior on the back. The note, written for family members back in Germany in the late 1920s when Melchior was suffering from rheumatism, says, “That is the only way I can get out because my legs won’t walk anymore. I don’t like driving a car, and the dogs take me wherever I want to go. The one in the front is called Bill (in German, Wilhelm), and the one on the left is called Waldman. The black one on the right is called Nick or Nikolaus. Three good, loyal workers, my bodyguard.”
Steve Melchior: Treasured peninsula pioneer with a sketchy past — Part 2

By at least his early 20s, Steve Melchior had begun to fabricate a past.

David Corenswet is Superman in “Superman.” (Promotional image courtesy DC Studios)
On the Screen: ‘Superman’ a bold vision of hope, kindness

The film dares to say that kindness is “punk rock.”

A clay tea set on display at the Kenai Potters Guild exhibit, “River,” hosted by the Kenai Art Center. (Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)
Making art shaped by the river

Kenai Potters Guild Clay On Display exhibit focuses on a river’s effect on self and community.

A clipping from a Homer Death Cafe poster.
Homer group tackles death and dying through open conversations

The local group mirrors a growing worldwide trend of “Death Cafes.”

Peonies bloom on Friday, July 4, 2024, in the garden beside Cosmic Kitchen on Pioneer Avenue in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting
Homer chamber hosts 6th annual Peony Celebration

The weeks-long festival features art exhibits, events, flower sales, guided farm tours and more.

These fudgy brownies are a classic, decadent treat. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Dessert for a thoughtful reader

These classic fudgy brownies are dense and decadent.

Volunteers scoop up ducks at the finish line during the annual Anchor River Duck Races on Saturday, July 5, in Anchor Point.
Locals win at 4th annual Anchor River duck races

The event is part of the Anchor Point VFW’s Fourth of July celebrations.

Most Read