Every summer, there are three things I treasure. One is seeing my gardens bloom and thrive as bees hum among the flowers and our fountains gurgle. The second is the lazy tempo and the feeling that warm weather can go on forever. And the third is Bing cherries.

This has been an especially good season for Bing cherries. The sweet and tart fruits are deep, dark, juicy, plump, and firm; perfect for eating out of hand or including in as many recipes as possible.

Cherries always remind me of my first cat, Muffin. Whenever I would sit down with a bowl of cherries, to pit them for cooking or eat them out of hand, she would politely request one, then walk triumphantly around the house, holding a cherry by the stem. She never tried to eat them; just enjoyed the feeling of power, I believe.

I also fondly recall an excellent canoe trip my husband and I took down Minneapolis' famous Minnehaha Creek one summer. I had pitted a couple of pounds of cherries and we snacked on them as we floated downstream, letting the juice run down our chins and reveling in the bucolic scenery.

And during a trip to Door County in Wisconsin one year, we ate cherries in every conceivable form; cherry juice, chicken glazed with cherry chutney, chocolate covered cherries, and an incredible cherry jam that we finished at home on toasted wild rice bread in about 30 minutes.

When you purchase cherries, look for those that feel firm and plump and seem heavy for their size. They should be free of spots and soft areas and the stems should be firmly attached to the fruit.

For a brief time in June and July you can also find Rainier cherries, those pale yellow and pink blushed fruits, but I don't like them as much as Bing cherries because they are much more fragile and bruise very easily.

Pitting cherries is an art. You can cut them in half and remove the pit with your fingers, but I like using a cherry pitter, making absolutely sure that each cherry is freed from its pit. You'll get into a rhythm, so enjoy the feel of the fruits, the wine-sweet aroma, the sound of the pit plunking into the bowl, and of course, your cook's treat is to snack on a cherry from time to time.

Enjoy the fruit of summer: the fresh cherry. Eat as many of them as you can, and enjoy the recipes below during this warm and lazy season.
 

Cherry Recipes

• Red White and Blue Trifle
  Instead of strawberries, I make this easy no cook recipe with Bing cherries whenever possible. You won't believe how good this is!
• Cherry Berry Salad
  This wonderful salad uses Bing and Rainier cherries along with strawberries and raspberries in a simple dressing. Yum.
• Cherry Chicken Melon Salad
  I make this salad many times during cherry season; it's just fabulous. The sweet-tart and crisp cherries combine with tender and honey-like melon with juicy chicken. There are just no words to describe this recipe.
• Cherry Salsa
  Imagine some juicy and tender turkey tenderoins cooked to smoky perfection on the grill, topped with this spicy and sweet fruit salsa recipe. Yum.
• Cherry Dessert
  Combine fresh cherries with some cherry jam in place of the canned cherry pie filling in this beautiful and delicious dessert.
• Cherry Freezer Jam
  Preserve summer with this fabulous freezer jam recipe. I like making freezer jams instead of the canned and processed type because they are easier and taste better.
• Cherry Oat Muffins
  These little muffins are the perfect quick breakfast when you're heading out the door to a ballgame or a lazy swim in a lake.
• Cherry Pork Tenderloin Medallions
  Pork tenderloins, when cut into slices, cook in only 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with apple juice, mustard, and Bing cherries and sit down to a feast in 10 minutes.
• Honey Lime Fruit Salad Dressing
  This super easy salad dressing recipe is sublime served over a combination of whole pitted cherries and sweet melon balls.
• Cherry Chicken Salad
  Fresh and sweet pineapple combines with tender chicken and crisp cherries in this elegant main dish salad recipe.
• Easy Tartufo
  Use fresh pitted cherries in this spectacular dessert recipe. Make a bunch, because they will go fast once your guests taste them.
• Curried Chicken Salad
  Add pitted sweet cherries to this easy and delicious recipe for one of the best salads of the summer.
• Brie with Cherry Chutney
  This chutney can be served as a dip on its own with some biscotti cookies, but try it with soft and melting Brie on crusty French bread for an appetizer you won't want to stop eating.
• Pork in Cherry Sauce
  Sweet and sour sauce combines with sweet fresh cherries to form a wonderfully flavored complement to pork tenderloin slices. Use this sauce with boneless skinless chicken breasts too.
• Wild Rice Chicken Salad Spread
  Make this fabulous spread recipe with chopped fresh cherries instead of the dried ones for a great twist. Keep this salad in the fridge for instant summer snacking.