Chew and I took our first trip outside of Vancouver this past week. We met in Kelowna just in time for the start of cherry and peach U-Pick. Of course, we brought back goodies to share with ya’ll!
The cherry farm we visited was Kempf Orchards. After a taste test, the unanimous opinion was that the Lapin and Stardust cherries were the tastiest. Lapins are the dark red cherries with a deep flavour. It was my first time coming across the Stardust type; they look similar to Rainier cherries but taste sweeter with a stronger floral note. Off to the orchards we went and got to work filling our metal pails. Both varieties were absolutely ginormous, like over an inch wide! Even the owner told us it was perfectly okay to discard the smaller cherries on the ground. And by smaller, that means cherries that we would call ‘jumbo’ at the grocery store. High standards are acceptable when picking your own fruit. But as a person that can’t stand wasting perfectly edible food, I ate enough cherries to fill me up until dinner time!
It was the second day of U-Pick season so every tree was bursting with ripe cherries. We didn’t have to hop from tree to tree because every cherry was essentially perfect. Oh man, orchards are my happy place. We weren’t the only ones squealing with excitement over fruit. A group of older Chinese moms and grandmas next to us were just as awed. We didn’t need to fully understand their dialect to understand what they were talking about. They would be talking about something and all of a sudden cut themselves off to point at a branch and yell something about how huge the cherries were. It was all quite amusing.
The backyard of the orchard was just as amusing with a swing set that read ‘play at your own risk’ and a ‘use at your own risk’ porta potty. The two of us lead risky lives so we went ahead and used both areas before it was time to carry the boxes of cherries back to the car. Right after loading our car, we took a look at the two boxes and decided there wasn’t as much as we thought there was. We’ve got recipes to make and friends to share with! So we scurried back into the orchard and told the owners “we’re back for more!” as we grabbed two more pails. “You didn’t eat them all already right?” was the response we got. Ha! I know we’re a fruit-crazy bunch. In total, we picked about 30 pounds of cherries.
Besides Kempf Orchards, which I would 10/10 revisit, we followed the city’s farm-to-table map and went to a peach orchard, lavender farm, and a honey farm as well. With all the fresh, local, in-season fruit picked by yours truly, we’re starting a farm-to-table recipe series! Stay tuned for recipes featuring the Lapin cherries, peaches, lavender essential oil, and honeycomb from our trip to the Okanagan.
I let the beautiful ombre Stardust cherries shine in this light vegan tofu custard tart. The crust is like a hearty shortbread cookie and the custard is made from whipped silken tofu flavoured with vanilla extract. If you have vanilla beans or pasta on hand, that would make this tart even better! All of this can be made in one food processor bowl, making this recipe easy breezy. Even if you don’t have cherries on hand, make this tart and top it with whatever fresh fruit your local farmers grow. Cheers to the bountiful summer fruits!
- CRUST
- 1 cup quick cook oats, ground into flour
- ¼ cup all purpose flour*
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- ¼ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup frozen coconut oil, cut into small-ish cubes
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp almond milk, plus more as needed
- TOFU CUSTARD
- 200g plain silken tofu
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- A pinch of salt
- TOPPING
- 1 generous handful of stardust cherries
- Preheat oven to 375⁰F. If using a cake pan, grease the pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Cut 2 long strips of parchment paper for 'handles', placing them across the bottom of the pan and coming up the sides. If using a pan with a removable bottom, no preparation is required.
- In a food processor, briefly combine the flours, baking soda and powder, salt, and cinnamon for the crust. Add the frozen coconut oil and process until very fine. Pour in the maple syrup for the crust and blend until distributed. With the motor running, slowly drizzle the almond milk through the chute. Use just enough milk so that the dough begins to come together.
- Transfer the dough onto a non-stick surface; I used some saran wrap but parchment paper, a silicone mat, or a floured counter top will work too. Use your hands to press all the dough bits into a ball. Flatten into a disk and use a rolling pin to roll the dough out until ¼" thick. Gently place the rolled dough into the baking pan and press into the nooks and crannies. Use the excess dough to patch up holes or thin areas. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly puffed and golden brown. Cool completely.
- While the crust is baking and cooling, wipe out the bowl of the food processor and add all the ingredients for the tofu custard. Blend until very smooth and allow it to keep blending for an extra minute or two to whip in some air. Transfer into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to set.
- To assemble, fill the crust half full with tofu custard. Don't fill it too full or the weight of the cherries may cause it to overflow. Top with cherries and serve immediately for a flow-y custard or refrigerate for a few hours for a sturdier custard.
Double the recipe to make an 8" tart
Shortcake crust adapted from our Farm Fresh Blueberry Shortcakes
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