The darker red Brooks cherries mix with the yellowish Royal Rainiers on the table of Murray Family Farms at the Bakersfield Farmers' Market. Photo by Jennifer Baldwin

Sean and Katie Murray (son and daughter of Steve Murray, owner of Murray Family Farms) attend to a rush of cherry customers at the Bakersfield Farmers' Market. Photo by Jennifer Baldwin

By Michelle Beck

The crazy weather we’ve had lately has slowed the growth of my veggies some, but my tomato plants are still covered with blossoms and a fair number of green tomatoes. Are you waiting for your first tomatoes, too? I am trying to use up last year’s sun-dried tomatoes in anticipation of making new ones.

I lost my first okra plants to snails, but the second planting is growing well. My peppers and eggplant look like they would be happier with more heat, but I know they will take off when the weather warms. I have been cutting sweet peas every day, and my house is filled with their fragrance. The boysenberry vines cover a large section of fence, and some of the berries are just starting to turn pink. I can’t wait for them to ripen!

This is a wonderful time of year for fruit. It’s the height of the strawberry season and blueberries, cherries, and other berries are coming into season now. Get out and enjoy all of the wonderful, local fruit while it is available.

Cherries

The season for local cherries is short, so make sure you don’t miss it! The earliest cherries are ready now, and my favorite Bing cherries are not far behind. When I was a kid, my family used to drive out to the Delano area and pick our own cherries. We probably ate as many as we picked, but we never got tired of them, because they were so good. We always picked far more than we intended to, which meant that our refrigerator was overflowing with cherries. (Not a bad thing.) I can remember lounging outside in the hammock with a book and a big bowl of cherries.

Murray Family Farms at the Bakersfield Farmer’s Market (8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, 3201 F St.) is currently selling three varieties: Royal Rainiers, Brooks and Sequoias. All three are early-ripening varieties. They are selling for $5 to $6 a bag. Royal Rainiers are yellow and red, but Brooks and Sequoia are both red. If you like white peaches and nectarines, you will probably like Rainier cherries. They definitely have a milder cherry flavor. The varieties of red cherries do have slightly different flavors, so be sure to try them all.

I know I am the queen of kitchen tools, but a cherry pitter is so handy to have, and it doesn’t take up very much space in a drawer. I have had mine for several years, and it gets plenty of use this time of year.

Cherry jam is delicious and easy to make. I use the Sure-Jell pectin in the pink box. The recipe and directions are inside the box. Jam is actually very easy to make, and my family enjoys having homemade jam all year. I use my cherry pitter to prep the cherries before chopping them up in my food processor.

Sweet Cherry Recipes

Cherries are great in many recipes. Just use your cherry pitter to make the preparation faster.

These cherry muffins would be good with coffee, and this cherry crumble pie would be a nice dessert. The pie will easily convert to gluten-free. Just make your favorite GF crust and substitute a good GF flour blend for the flour in the crumble topping. Read the directions on the flour bag for the proper proportion of GF flour to regular flour.

Back in the days when the school cafeteria made food, instead of reheating processed meals, cherry crisp was one of my favorites. Crisp toppings convert well to gluten-free. Just substitute your favorite GF flour blend.

This fresh cherry tart is very similar to a strawberry tart I made for Mother’s Day. It was very simple, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Cherry Clafoutis are pretty, and make a great brunch dish.

Savory Cherry Recipes

Cherries are also very good in savory dishes and sauces. Cherry-jalapeño Mexican pork would be a great weekend dinner. Cherry chutney would be good spooned over chicken or pork. And this cherry salsa is good on any meat, or poured over a block of cream cheese with some crisp crackers on the side for spreading.

Berries

Berries grow very well here. In fact, some (anyone who grows them) would even say they are invasive. It is hard to remember the annoyance of pulling errant berry vines when faced with a fence covered in gorgeous, ripe berries, though.

Boysenberries are my favorite, but many people also like blackberries, marionberries and olallieberries. Boysenberries are a cross between a raspberry, a blackberry and a loganberry. They were developed by a man named Rudolph Boysen, and were first grown commercially by Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm fame.

Olallieberries are a cross between a loganberry and a youngberry, and are primarily grown in California. If you are traveling to the coast this summer, Linn’s Bakery in Cambria specializes in olallieberry desserts.

Marionberries are a cross between olallieberries and blackberries and have a rich flavor. Any of these can generally be used interchangeably in any recipe calling for berries.

The most important thing to remember when choosing berries is that they need to be picked ripe. Berries are delicate, so some growers pick them a little unripe to keep them from being squished. Don’t waste your money on unripe berries. Better still, grow your own, so you can walk into your back yard on a warm spring evening and fill your hands with ripe berries.

Berries make wonderful pies. This recipe calls for boysenberries, but any berry would work. For a twist on cobbler, try these berry cobbler pie bars.

At my house, we all like boysenberry jam on peanut butter toast. I use the Sure-Jell pectin in the pink box for this jam as well. The recipe is inside the box, and it can be used with any berry. In previous years, when I had a variety of berries, I made mixed-berry jam and it was delicious.

Berries freeze extremely well, and can be used in smoothies or other recipes.

For an impressive dessert, try these lemon cheesecake squares with fresh berries or this beautiful, naturally gluten-free pavlova with lemon curd and berries.

This is an in-between time for vegetables, so enjoy the bounty of fruit while you wait for your summer veggies to ripen!