Thanksgiving is better with cherries!

Here’s some ideas to help make your Thanksgiving meal a bit more “local”

Buy a Kirkland Fruitcake from Costco

These fruitcakes are made with Leelanau Fruit Company cherries!  We make the whole glacè fruit mix that goes into these cakes, which are delicious!

Make Cherry Relish instead of Cranberry relish

2 cups frozen pitted tart cherries

2 cored granny smith apples

1 large whole orange, peeled

Pinch orange zest

1/2 to 1 cup sugar

Put all fruit into a food processor or chopper. Chop into fine pieces. Mix in sugar to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

 

Serve local wine with your Turkey

I’d suggest Aurora Cellars Radiance or Pinot Noir 2014. You can’t go wrong with anything made by my friend Sam Simpson.

 

Substitute some great local apples, potatoes, or other local ingredients into your meal plan.

 

And as always, skip the pumpkin pie and eat a delicious cherry pie!

Jobs, jobs, jobs!!!

Help wanted img

The cherries are ripening, and that means we are ramping up for a great summer cherry pack season!  If you, a family member, or someone you know is looking for a summer job for 4-8 weeks, please have them call our office or stop by to submit an application for work.

Our telephone number is 231-271-3514, and our address is 2900 S. West Bayshore Dr. Suttons Bay, MI 49682.

We have a variety of jobs and shifts available.  Our day shift is 7:00 am through 5:30 pm, and our night shift is 5:30 pm through 4:00 am.

Our job openings include office staff who are responsible for weighing and grading cherries, fork lift drivers and production staff.

Minos are welcome to work, but they are limited to working 8 hours per day.

Competitive wages, a great work environment, and overtime opportunities are available.

We look forward to adding you to our cherry team this summer!

Food Trippin’ with Molly

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but summertime cherries are still on our mind!  Our farms and processing plants were honored to host an online food/travel show called “Food Trippin’ with Molly” this past July.  Molly and her crew did a wonderful job of showcasing our beautiful fruit and telling our story from cherry tree to ice cream cone.

Enjoy!

 

Tailgate Treats!

Here are two excellent, easy recipes cherry recipes sure to be the hit of your next football party or tailgate!

Both of these recipes call for cherry pie filling.  We highly recommend you make your own using our frozen tart cherries grown right here in Leelanau County!

 

CHERRY CHEESECAKE DIP

Ingredients:

8oz cream cheese, softened

3.75 oz (1/2 of a 7oz jar) Marshmallow creme

8 oz Cool Whip, thawed

2 cups cherry pie filling

Vanilla Wafers, graham crackers, chocolate graham crackers

In a medium size bowl beat cream cheese and marshmallow crème until well combined.  Add Cool Whip and mix to combine.

Spread into a 2 quart dish or plate.  Top with cherry pie filling.  Serve with graham crackers and vanilla wafers.

 

CHERRY PIE BARS

Bars:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

3 cups cherry pie filling

Glaze:

1 ¼ cups confectioners sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 tablespoons milk (may take a little more to get to that right consistency to drizzle the glaze)

Directions:

Bars:

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, add the butter, sugar and salt, beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, again scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Add extracts and beat well.

Gradually add the flour and mix well to incorporate.

Spread 75% of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.  The dough will be sticky so it will take some time to get the dough spread out evenly in the pan.  Top with the pie filling, leaving a ¼” margin from the edges of the pan.  Drop the remaining dough in about 1 teaspoon size drops over the filling.  It will flatten out some while baking.  Bake bar for 35 minutes or until edges and top is very lightly brown.  Allow bars to cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Glaze:

In a medium size bowl mix confectioners sugar, extracts and the amount of milk to get a desired consistency to drizzle over the bars.  Evenly drizzle over the bars.

 

#runrecoverrepeat fitness challenge

A while back, we invited you participate in our #runrecoverrepeat fitness contest.  Many people had fun posting their photos using our products.  We are excited that many of you are using our products for their health benefits and nutritional properties.

The winner of the #runrecoverrepeat contest is Kelley Young from Ravenna, MI!  Thanks so much for using our products and sharing your experience with your Facebook page.  Your post led to a great conversation about cherries among your friends.

Keep working toward your fitness goals this summer.  Let us know how cherry concentrate is helping in your progress.  Share your experiences with your social friends, and by all means, keep using the #runrecoverrepeat hashtag!

 

Kelly young pic

Red Means Go- Tart Cherries and Muscle Recovery

Spring is in the air! It seems like everywhere we look, people are outside, cleaning up yards, exercising, and enjoying a little warm weather. With new years resolutions and warmer weather for jogging, more people are hitting the gyms and sweating up a fever. Only to wake up the next morning with tired and aching muscles that don’t want to move an inch. And this isn’t limited to the sporty kind of people, spring cleaners using up a bit too much of their elbow grease can also come down with a case of sore muscles.

It’s good to take care and not push yourself too hard, but sometimes muscle soreness is unavoidable. Pain relief gel or a cbd roll on might work in these instances to help facilitate muscle recovery, as would simply taking a day of rest. But if only there was a delicious remedy that you could eat, perhaps even as part of your workout routine or as a reward for clearing out the house.

Well, now there is! The Cherry Marketing Institute has put together a fabulous resource page about the muscle recovery benefits of tart cherries. That page can be found here.

Make sure you scroll to the middle of the webpage and download the Tart Cherry Recovery Recipes booklet. In it, you will find great recipes for Cherry Good Oatmeal, Tart Cherry Recovery Gummies, Cherry Chocolate Chip Protein Bites, Cherry Revitalizer Smoothie, and Tart Cherry Mango Avocado Salad.

The wonderful versatility of our fruit is on full display in that recipe book. Let us know if you use any of these recipes in your #runrecoverrepeat routine.

To your health!

 

7 Day Cherry Challenge

Elite athletes, weekend warriors, and regular Joe’s are finding muscle recovery and health benefits from drinking tart cherry juice.  In previous blog posts, we’ve shown you the sleep benefits of tart cherry juice and the muscle recovery benefits of tart cherry juice.

Hopefully by now, you’ve tried our concentrate or cherry capsules for yourself.  If you haven’t, now is the time!  Our industry partners at www.choosecherries.com have started a 7 day tart cherry challenge.  You can learn more about it by clicking this link, which contains incredible resources, recipes, and tips on how to consume the benefits of tart cherries.

We are convinced that if you drink tart cherry juice or pop a couple of our cherry capsules twice a day, you will start to feel the benefits of our wonderful super fruit within 7 days!

So give the 7 day tart cherry challenge a try.  Let us know how it is going for you by leaving a comment below, or using the hashtag #runrecoverrepeat on your social media channels.

#runrecoverrepeat fitness contest

Leelanau Fruit Company tart cherry concentrate and cherry Plus capsules are fast becoming a favorite training aid for fitness enthusiasts and runners alike.  We’ve had a long winter in Northern Michigan, so to celebrate spring, we invite you to join our #runrecoverrepeat fitness community on Instagram and Facebook.

Every time you use the hashtag #runrecoverrepeat, you will enter to win a Leelanau Fruit fitness package that includes a performance tee shirt, hat, and all the cherry products you’ll need to #runrecoverrepeat all summer long!  The more posts you use #runrecoverrepeat on, the more times you’ll be entered to win.

So, after your next run, post a picture of your recovery tart cherry juice drink.  Add the hashtag #runrecoverrepeat.

Are you a morning runner? Show us a pic of a beautiful sunrise on your run with #runrecoverrepeat.

Love running with your dog?  A pic with your pooch and #runrecoverrepeat- you are entered to win!  The possibilities are endless.

This community and contest isn’t limited to runners though.  Do you love our concentrate for other reasons?  Did you just have a great night’s sleep after drinking tart cherry concentrate the night before?  Post your status or picture with #runrecoverrepeat and you’ll be entered to win too!

Don’t forget to stock up on our cherry concentrate and capsules for the your training. We will choose a random winner of the hashtag contest on May 27, the day before many of us run the Bayshore Marathon.  The winner will receive his or her LFC fitness package in time to train for and sign up for the National Cherry Festival of Races.

Tell us below in the comment section what races you are training for this summer.  We’d love to connect with you at some great Northern Michigan events this year!

#runrecoverrepeat and you’ll be in the best shape of your life!

Easter Holiday Recipes

Easter is fast approaching, and our maraschino cherries and glace fruit mixes can help make your holiday feast memorable this year.

Our maraschino cherries are available for purchase from our website, and our glace fruit mixes can be purchased and shipped by calling our office at 1-800-431-0718.

Let us know if you try these recipes and how they turn out!

Hot Cross Buns with Glace Fruit

4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
2 packages (1/4 ounce each) fast-rising yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
1 – ¼ cups milk
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into pieces
2 eggs
½ cup dark raisins
¾ cup (6 oz.) Leelanau Fruit Glace Fruit Mix
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
1 cup confectioners sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons milk

Combine 2 cups of the flour, yeast, granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in large bowl. Heat milk and butter in small saucepan until butter is melted and milk registers 125 to 130 degrees; add to flour mixture mixing until smooth. Beat in eggs. Mix in enough remaining flour to make smooth dough; mix in raisins, pineapple and fruit & peel mix. Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Place dough in bowl; let rise, covered, in warm place until double in size, 30 to 45 minutes. Punch dough down.

Shape dough into 3 dozen balls; place 2 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Let rise, loosely covered, until double in size, about 30 minutes. Beat egg white and water until foamy; brush over tops of rolls. Bake in preheated 375-degree oven until golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Mix confectioners sugar with enough milk to make thick glaze consistency. Drizzle a cross of frosting over the top of each roll.

Makes 3 dozen

 

Holiday Manhattan Bundt Cake with Spiked Bourbon Glaze

Manhattan Bundt cake

Cake

20 oz. Leelanau Fruit Maraschino Cherries

4 large eggs

1 tbs grated fresh orange zest

¾ c bourbon

2 tbsp sweet red vermouth

2 ½ c all-purpose flour

2c granulated sugar

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1 ½ tsps. Salt

16 tbsp (2 sticks) salted butter, cut into chunks, softened

 Glaze

1 c powdered sugar

2 to 2 ½ tbsp. bourbon

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F.
  2. Drain cherries and reserve 6 cherries for garnish; roughly chop remaining cherries.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, orange zest, ¾ c bourbon and vermouth until combined. Set aside.
  4. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed, adding butter, 1 chunk at a time.  When all butter has been incorporated, beat at medium-low speed until mixture is crumbly, about 30 seconds.
  5. With mixer on low, add egg mixture in a steady stream. Scrape down the sides of the bow, increase speed to medium-high, and beat until batter is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Stir in chopped cherries.
  6. Lightly grease of spray a nonstick Bundt pan and pour batter evenly into pan. Rap on counter to release any air bubbles.  Bake in preheated oven on a lower rack until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 40-45 minutes.  Rotate the pan halfway through baking.  Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
  7. While cake is cooling, make the glaze. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and 2 tbsp bourbon until smooth.  (Start with 2 tbsp bourbon and add a little more if needed)
  8. Turn the cake out onto a cookie sheet or serving platter and drizzle with glaze while cake is still slightly warm. Garnish with reserved maraschino cherries.

Enjoy!

Sleepy from Daylight Savings Time? Try tart cherries!

Many people have a love-hate relationship with daylight savings time. They love having more daylight early in the morning, but they hate the way the time change affects their sleep patterns. It’s an insomniac’s worst nightmare, to say the least. Fortunately, many people who have difficulty sleeping are able to overcome the problem with the help of cannabis, where they are able to order concentrates by mail, or by visiting an online or physical dispensary in order to obtain the cannabis-infused products they need to improve their sleeping patterns. Over the years, this idea has seemingly grown in popularity and many are now using it to help combat any physical or mental ailments they may be suffering from. Of course, knowing a thing or two about the bong vs bubbler debate would be helpful for a first-time novice in this area.

Research has shown that daily consumption of tart cherry concentrate about 90 minutes before you go to bed delivers natural melatonin to your body. Tart cherries are a rare food that contains melatonin, and this melatonin helps your body regulate sleep.

The research behind tart cherries amazing ability to help regulate good sleep can be found here:

http://www.choosecherries.com/press-material/study-tart-cherry-juice-increases-sleep-time-in-adults-with-insomnia/

To see a few great clips of the Dr. Oz show and his investigation into tart cherries ability to help us sleep can be found here:

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/tart-cherry-all-natural-sleep-aid-pt-1

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/tart-cherry-all-natural-sleep-aid-pt-2

Our families sleep routine includes taking two Leelanau Fruit Co. Montmorency Cherry Plus Tart Cherry Capsules an hour and a half before we go to bed. We sleep great and wake up refreshed.

Our Montmorency Tart Cherry Concentrate is also a great way to get your nighttime dose of cherry goodness. The sweet-tart flavor is also great to quench that late-night sweet tooth.

Melatonin can be a great natural way to help you get to sleep when the hours get mixed up. It can also help in general if you suffer from insomnia. Though you may want to explore other options as well, such as looking on websites like https://felixgray.com/sleepglasses for resources to aid in restful sleep. Something as simple as changing your mattress can help induce a good night’s sleep, believe it or not. Some mattress sellers occasionally offer 1-2 month trials (here’s a place to find these kinds of offers: https://www.raise.com/coupons/saatva) so you can always try before you buy if you’re ever unsure. Another way to try and get a better night’s sleep is simply to avoid any kind of electronic or bright light before bed as they can trick you into thinking it’s still daytime. So don’t bring that smartphone to bed, you can check Twitter in the morning.

Let us know how our tart cherry products or other sleeping tips are helping you sleep by commenting below. Happy Daylight Savings Time!