LILAMAND CONFISEUR FRUIT CONFIT

Imagine a store that offers tantalizing summer fruits sweetly preserved in its pristine state for your pleasure all year round. Sounds a bit Willy Wonka-ish doesn't it? But at Lilamand in the small village of Saint Remy in the South of France, it is their specialty - to suspend fruit in time by using one of the oldest forms of preservation: sugar.

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SWEET POTATO CRANBERRY HASH

I know many of you probably have already sketched out and finalized your plans for Thanksgiving Day.  Recipes have been tested, fine china and silver polished, and a well-thought out orchestration of how each dish will be prepared, has been set. That's a lot of pressure. Thank goodness nobody put me in charge!

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WARM LENTIL SALAD WITH APPLES AND CURRANTS

As the weather growers colder, my appetite for heartier and richer meals grows, a desire that easily leads to recipes that call for a good dose of cream and butter.

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POMEGRANATE

This rustic fruit is a sweet reminder of my childhood, when my mom would break the leathery skin open and amaze my siblings and me with the ruby gems tucked inside.  She would patiently and gently peel the seeds away as each one of us waited for our share. We would then crush the seeds between our teeth, and squeal with glee as we felt a sweet and juicy burst in our mouth.

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RASPBERRIES

I brought home a basket of ripe raspberries, which were so tantalizing they inspired millions of delightfully sweet ideas of how I would eat them: over a custard tart or ice cream, or maybe in a sinfully divine raspberry sauce to be drizzled over a custard tart or ice cream. They were just so stunning that I couldn't help myself! I gobbled them up bit by bit until none were spared. So much for ambitious and imaginative recipes!

SPICY RED WINE POACHED SECKEL PEARS

Cute, crunchy and sweet, seckel pears, which are indigenous to Pennsylvania, are showing up at the Union Square Farmers Market this week. This adorable dwarf-size fruit features a delicious creamy white flesh underneath a gorgeous reddish-brown blushed light green exterior.

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SIMPLE TOMATO AND BASIL PASTA

This has been a heart-breaking year for tomato growers in the northeastern region of the United States, where an unusually rainy summer has helped to propagate infection of tomato blight. Typically at this time of year, my pop's garden would have so many ripe tomatoes that he wouldn't be able to give all of it away. This year the harvest was severely anemic, and of the tomatoes that survived, they were so cosmetically challenged that all you could do is throw them into a tomato sauce.

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BLUEBERRY COBBLER RECIPE

I've been taking lots of pictures of blueberries recently, especially given my recent visit to Phillips Farm, where I brought back a bucket full of super ripe and juicy blueberries. On the northeastern region of the United States, blueberry season runs through the entire month of July and the early weeks of August, enough time to fit in a couple of delectable dishes such as blueberry pie, cobbler or pancakes.

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How to Pick a Ripe Pineapple

This pineapple that I recently picked up at from Whole Foods was ripe through and through, as evidenced by its orange-yellow flesh and syrupy juice.

If you've had bad luck with finding sweet pineapples, here's a couple of tips:

• Select a pineapple that looks nice and plump, avoid those that appear shriveled or dried out
• Carefully tug at one the baby inner leaves at the center of the crown. If the leave pulls out easily, congratulations you have a ripe pineapple

What a delightful tropical treat!

Pineapple-Cranberry Holiday Punch
This is a holiday punch that I make during the cold season to warm up from the frigid snowy days of the winter.

• Rind from one fresh pineapple
• 1 navel orange
• 1 lemon
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 12 cloves
• one 2-inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 cups apple juice
• 1 cup cranberry juice (I used 100% cranberry juice)
• 4 cups water
• Sugar to taste

Method

1. Have a 5-7 quart pot ready. 
2. For the pineapple. Rinse the surface of the pineapple thoroughly with warm water. Cut the top and bottom off of the pineapple, and discard. Cut the rind off of the pineapple, and place in in the pot. Reserve the flesh for another occasion.  
3. For the orange and lemon. Quarter the orange and shear off the white connecting membrane from the center. Squeeze the juice into the pot. Take a knife and cut off the remaining flesh from the rind, try to shear off as much of the bitter white pith as possible. Place the thin rind into the pot, and discard the rest. Repeat with the lemon.
4. Add spices and juices. Throw in the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, apple juice, cranberry juice and water. Bring to a gentle boil and lower the heat to medium-low. Allow the punch to stay warm for two hours, and enjoy the wonderful holiday aromas that emanate. 
5. Drain the punch and add sugar to taste. 

CHERRIES

Gorgeous sour cherries, perfect for pies and cobblers!

Variety is the spice of life!

Cherries in many colors and flavors!

RECIPE
Easy Cherry Cobbler
1/2 cup butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (optional)

2 cups sour cherries pitted*
1/2 cup white sugar (3/4 cup if you like it sweeter)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour



* Tip: If you do not have a cherry pitter, use a drinking straw to pit the cherries. Hold the cherry flat on a plate, puncture the cherry with the straw where the stem grows, and pull the straw out. The pit will be at the end of the straw.

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the butter in a 9x13 inch baking dish, and place in the oven to melt while the oven is preheating. Remove as soon as butter has melted in roughly 5 minutes.

For the flour mixture
In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and baking powder (and spices, if desired). Mix in the milk (and vanilla, if desired) until blended, it's okay if there are a few lumps. Pour the batter into the baking dish over the melted butter. Do not stir.

For the cherry filling
In a bowl, toss together cherries, 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of flour. Pour the cherry mixture evenly over the batter. Do not stir.

Bake for 50 - 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. An easy way to check for doneness is to insert a toothpick into the cobber, which if done, should come out clean.