My husband deserves a lot of spoiling these days.

As I’ve been up to my ears in writing, working in overdrive all hours of the day, he has been picking up all my slack. Child-care, groceries, errands, child-care, cleaning, child-care – all that stuff. On top of working his tukhus off at, you know, his job.

So now that my books are wrapped and life is slowly returning to normal, as I make my way through the pile up of to-dos and dust residues around the house, one of my main priorities is Taking Care Of Damian. Because he deserves it!

This weekend at the Farmer’s Market, we picked up a few pints of the first organic cherries of the season. And on Sunday night I asked my love, “What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?”, and as he was thinking about it I said “Would you like me to make you a cherry crisp?”, and he didn’t have to answer. The tears sort of said enough.



Well, I had to have one too!

Do you remember last summer’s RAW 101 series? It was a great little feature, where I presented meals in two ways, one all raw, and one cooked, but utilizing the same central ingredients. It’s quite common that only one member of a household is raw/vegan, and it can be difficult to maintain your motivation when you’re cooking two completely different meals every night. That’s a lot of work! (believe me, I know) So RAW 101 is all about lightening that kitchen load, by maximizing similarities in the cooked and raw components. You get to eat raw, they get a nice home-cooked meal, everybody’s eating healthier, and we all win! Look out for many more RAW 101 posts coming this summer.

So anyway, about those cherry crisps. They were spectacular.

Keep in mind that these are both “single serving” recipes, so make adjustments as needed. Also, we ate these for breakfast because we are sinful and decadent folk. I did use a bit less sweetener than you’d find in your standard after dinner crisps, though they’re certainly quite sweet and would make a great dessert.

These two recipes contain many of the same ingredients and are constructed identically, so it’s super easy to make them simultaneously, step by step. Make them the night before so they’re ready to go as soon as you rise.


Damian’s “I Love You” Cherry Crisp

Ingredients:
1 cup pitted Bing or Ranier cherries, halved
1 1/2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon raw agave syrup
few drops almond extract (pour a bit from the bottle into the cap, then tip the cap over the bowl – easier to control the flow this way)

¼ cup rolled oats
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon coconut crystals (or brown sugar)
1 tablespoon Earthbalance™ or other alt butter
pinch of salt

Fresh out of the oven, bubbly and hot!

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375º F. Unless you’re making it the night before. Then, you know, don’t leave your oven on all night. Just preheat in the morning.

Combine the cherries, corn starch, lemon juice, agave, and almond extract in a small bowl and toss to combine. Transfer to a ramekin or mini tart pan.

In another small bowl, combine the oats, whole wheat flour, sugar, and salt. Toss to mix. Cut in the butter and mix until crumbly. Spoon mixture over cherries.

Bake at 375º F for 15-25 minutes, until top is toasty and filling is bubbling. Allow to cool a bit before serving (ramekin will be very hot!). Serve with coffee and big smooch.




Sayward’s Raw Breakfast Cherry Crisp

Ingredients:
1 cup pitted Bing or Ranier cherries, halved
1 teaspoon coconut flour (you can make a DIY version by grinding dried shredded coconut in a coffee or spice grinder)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon raw agave syrup
few drops almond extract (pour a bit from the bottle into the cap, then tip the cap over the bowl – easier to control the flow this way)

¼ cup sprouted, dehydrated buckwheat “crunchies” (what the heck are those?) (also, see ***note)
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1 tablespoon coconut crystals (raw coconut sugar)
1 tablespoon raw coconut oil
pinch of salt

*** I used buckwheat crunchies because rolled oats are not really raw. However, many raw enthusiasts eat rolled oats, and oats are really good for you, so if you’re not super strict and if buckwhatever crunchimibobbies sound like crazy talk to you, feel free to use rolled oats in the raw version as well. It will still taste fantastic!

Instructions:
Combine the cherries, coconut flour, lemon juice, agave, and almond extract in a small bowl and toss to combine. Transfer to a ramekin or mini tart pan.

In another small bowl, combine the buckwheat, coconut flour, coconut crystals, and salt. Toss to mix. Cut in the coconut oil and mix until crumbly. Spoon mixture over cherries.

Dehydrate at 115º F for 2 hours, then serve warm from the dehydrator with iced coffee and a side of happy husband.




These two treats were such a splendid way to celebrate life on a sunny morning with loved ones. They make great use of the cherries which are ripe right now, but the truth is that they’d be awesome with just about any seasonal fruit. I imagine we’ll be modifying them to accomodate the crop as the summer continues. Enjoy!

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