The Fruits of Summer

I tend to like simple things. My personal style is “classic” — straightforward lines without a lot of adornment — my workouts are fundamental — boot camps hold more appeal than a choreographed dance class — and while I like to experiment, my usual eats are pretty basic, too. Old-fashioned, nothing fancy, fruit desserts are one of my favorites.
Their no-nonsense presentation appeals to me on many levels. They are easy to prepare, especially for a larger crowd, are naturally sweet, and practically foolproof. It’s pretty hard to mess up a cobbler — toss fresh fruit with a little sweetener of your choice, sprinkle on a crumb topping and let the oven do the rest.
Who needs a fancy French pastry when you’ve got old-time favorites such as raspberry buckle, plum betty or the “don’t heat up the oven,” stove-top favorite — apricot grunt. (Okay, maybe that one doesn’t sound too appetizing, but trust me you’ll want to go back for seconds!) No one cares if the fruit is overly ripe or slightly bruised — that just makes for a more juicy finish; and if your pan overflows, it just adds to the rustic attraction.
While most any fruit or berry combination will do, bing cherries are numero uno on my top 10 summertime fruit list. This year I went all retro and even used an old-time cherry pitter I found in my mom’s kitchen.

Desserts don’t always have to be decadent fudgey triple chocolate extravagances. Let healthy, wholesome fruit be the star of the show. I might, however, actually invest in one of those new fangled OXO cherry pitters to see how they fare.

Does baked fruit satisfy your sweet tooth? Or are you a chocoholic? —Karen