The anticipation of the cherries and cherry season is growing! It is one of the year's very special treats!

This time of year we try to plan. Plan the best we can. We clean the clean room, and we count the boxes and the pads, twice. And we try to control ourselves and not email Kevin more than once a day about when he might harvest the first of our cherries.

Kevin, you see, is our interface with his family orchards. And though, remarkably, he is pretty gosh darn accurate, predicting exactly when the fruit is primed and perfect for picking-at-its-peak, is a shot-in-the-dark. And, along with his brother, Mark, they manage to come pretty close to knowing when the pick will happen. It must be that the fruit talks to them.

The weather plays such an important variable (and the weather is not normal) to when the cherries are perfect, and it makes the countdown to harvest unpredictable.

Yet, we always plan, with great anticipation for the first crunchy bite of cherry! Every year we can't wait and get so excited to pack the cherries! (If you pack, you get to eat the rejects, a very important component of quality control).

And Cherry time is also when all those friends we haven't seen all year start dropping by the shop....

In as little as 7 short weeks, the glorious cherry season will be upon us! Consider a quintet-of-cherries; one box of each variety as they are harvested, the perfect decadent summer treat to have and to give.

Not only do you get to see and taste the difference between the five varieties, you also have the opportunity to debate which is your favorite cherry variety from this year's harvest. It's truly an eye opening fun time when you see how nature changes from year-to-year, from variety-to-variety.

First up, is the light-skinned Early Robin Cherry, a bigger, more snappy cherry than the famous Rainier.

It is one good tasting, juicy cherry! Quite frankly it is a positively delicious treat to start the year!

Preorder soon!

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This is the easy squeezy simple Clafoutis Recipe. You can't fail unless you forget to bake it!

The most time consuming step is pitting and slicing the cherries.

Keep in mind any fruit will do wonderfully. I use pears in the fall or peaches when they are in season.

See the Easy Easy Clafoutis Recipe here!

Moretti Bramata Coarse Yellow Polenta is a traditional Italian cornmeal that is coarsely ground to create a rustic texture. It is made from high-quality, non-GMO, stone-ground yellow corn and is commonly used in Italian cuisine to make various dishes such as polenta cakes, fries, and porridge.

This polenta is produced by the Moretti family, who have been milling corn since 1922. The corn is grown in the Po Valley, a region in northern Italy known for its fertile land, which produces some of the best corn in the country.

Moretti Bramata Coarse Yellow Polenta is versatile and can be cooked in many different ways. To prepare it, simply add the polenta to boiling water, stir continuously for about 40-45 minutes until it reaches a creamy consistency. You can then serve it as a side dish, topped with cheese, meat sauce, or vegetables.

This polenta is also gluten-free and contains no preservatives or artificial colors.

Shop now for Moretti Bramata Polenta Coarse Yellow!

The creamy polenta creates a nice, creamy bed for the chicken, and is a wonderful way to both, use up leftover corn-on-the-cob, and soak up the wonderfully mustardy juices of the chicken. If you use already cooked corn-on-the-cob, add the corn about 1 minute before the polenta is done.

See the Grilled Mustard Chicken with Fresh Corn Polenta Recipe here!

In 1634, out of concern for the quality of its mustard, the city of Dijon imposed the first statues on the mustard-making trade. Even before this date the region was well known for the quality of its mustard.

The 18th century discovery of verjuice - juice from grapes harvested in Burgundy - put the finishing touch of quality to this fine product.

Adding verjuice to the brown mustard seed and grinding the mixture using traditional grindstones, so as not to damage the heat-sensitive paste, helped to earn French stone ground Dijon mustard a worldwide reputation for quality.

Shop now for Fallot Dijon Mustard!

This recipe starts with two butterflied chickens, broiled until they are just short of done (about 10 minutes on the second side instead of 15 minutes). They are then coated with a delicious blue cheese mustard sauce and bread crumbs, and then broiled for another 10-12 minutes. Pretty easy, if you know how to butterfly a chicken....

See the Blue Cheese Mustard Chicken Recipe here!

The goal is to use the strawberries when the market is full of wonderful looking fruit. The crust is super easy using shortbread or other crumbly cookies. A no fuss kind of pie.

See the Strawberry Pie with a Cookie Crust recipe here!

Truly handmade dark chocolate biscuits from the land of the shortbread cookie. House of Edinburgh prides itself on doing things properly. The result is a cookie that is genuinely made by hand to ensure that the taste, texture and appearance is far superior to mass produced products. This is achieved by providing skilled bakers with only the very finest ingredients - especially the butter. They also bake to order, ensuring that we receive their orders as fresh as possible.

The result of all the family care really shines through in the House of Edinburgh shortbread, with luscious chocolate chips added for a little chocolate bite treat. Plus, the lovely tin doesn't hurt. Buy these dark chocolate biscuits for the perfect hostess gift.

About the makers of House of Edinburgh shortbread:

In 1989, Anthony & his wife, Fiona, decided to make the most of the Laing family's generations of baking experience by buying an existing one-woman business based in Scotland's historic capital city of Edinburgh.

They then set about making the business their own and what better way to do that than to make it a real family affair? And so as soon as they were able to stand upright and put biscuits in a box, all three Laing children were kitted out in oversized white overalls to join their parents in the bakery. It was a great relief for Anthony and Fiona when they discovered the use of child labour was not illegal so long as they didn't pay them. A double win, in the House of Edinburgh shortbread's favor.

It wasn't long until Anthony and Fiona's two sons (Rupert and Christopher) joined the business full-time after gaining valuable experience in other jobs and graduate schemes.

Shop now House of Edinburgh Dark Chocolate Shortbread Biscuits!

Keep in mind that each and every ingredient matters, especially the butter. The butter really matters. It's the key. Look for local, just made butter if you can find it.

If you want to make it your own try adding small chunks of candied ginger, or a few teaspoons of fennel pollen, or a few dashes of Scrappy's Lavender Bitters. Caramelized cocoa nibs will add a nice crunch and a bit of chocolate zing for those who crave cocoa in their sweets.

See the Simple Shortbread Recipe here!

When trying, testing, creating a recipe (in this case, a very old recipe) it is intimidating because you never know what the outcome will be. And, with a recipe with such a history, you want to do it justice!

See the Strawberry Charlotte with Rose Biscuits Cake Recipe here!

Perfect for making Tiramisu, or to just enjoy with a glass of Prosecco.

Shop now for Savoiardi Lady Fingers!

Tamarind is a tropical fruit from the tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica), a leguminous tree in the Fabaceae family. It produces pod-like fruits containing a sticky, dark brown pulp with a tangy, sweet-sour flavor.

It thrives in tropical and subtropical climates, especially in dry or semi-arid regions with well-drained soil.

Tamarind has a unique flavor that combines, sourness (from tartaric acid, especially in unripe pulp), Sweetness (in ripe pulp) and fruity & tangy notes with a hint of smokiness.

Tamarind is rich in nutrients and compounds with medicinal properties. Tartaric acid, magnesium, potassium, polyphenols & flavonoids, dietary fiber, and a laxative effect.

See the Tamarind Iced Tea Recipe here!

Jaggery (which you may know as Guda or Indian Gur sugar) is a whole, unrefined sugar that is as pure as any sugar from sugar cane can be. Compared to most sugars, especially refined white sugar, Jaggery has great properties.

Jaggery is made by boiling down raw sugar cane juice until it solidifies and is formed into a block. From there it takes on different forms for consumption.

According to Ayurveda, pure Jaggery powder has Ushna (hot) properties and eating some daily after meals improves your digestion and can prevent constipation.

Though Jaggery does not meet your daily iron needs, it is an excellent source of plant-based iron and can be a good daily step to ward off anemia.

The Jaggery with its antioxidant and mineral properties can work to clear the mucus in lungs and help the digestive system to function better by giving cytoprotection to your cells.

All these properties help with your immune system, a good thing to have in the winter when you are out playing in the snow, or at the beach, warding off the flu or whatever might be out there.

And for some it might even curb your desire to eat more cookies.

Jaggery has a rich aroma of molasses and sugarcane. Jaggery powder is like a wonderful perfume of sweetness.

At ChefShop we have a crushed form, that has little round globe-like pieces as well as finer granules. Eat the little globes with your fingertips to get a shot of adrenaline and a hit of flavor, even regularity.

If you like sweet like I do, you should consider adding some Jaggery to your life! Use as you would white sugar and eat it with abandon, just like you would like life to be. All out!

Sweet and happy, this is a sugar I have to have in my personal essential pantry!

Shop now for Jaipur Avenue Unrefined Jaggery Powder Sugar!

Add and then shake.

See the Sparkling Yuzu Brandy Sour Recipe here!

Chutney is a much-loved condiment and is relished in England and everywhere, except here. I have been trying to go back in my mind as to why we have such an aversion to chutneys here. I can't find anything (a blank mind is a terrible thing to waste).

Overall, this is a winner; it is friendly, it is a condiment that can be put on a sandwich, or combined into recipes for an acceleration of goodness.

To the nose, there is an aggressive jump up into your nostrils as you smell cardamom, turmeric and hot peppers. This is followed by a feel of citrus that turns into acid.

Leave the cover off and the acidic volatiles evaporate and what remains is the cardamom, turmeric and the hint of pepper. There is also a nose of pickling.

There is a tinge of excitement for the mouth, not knowing what is going to happen! There are three main groups here. The initial whole mouth texture is the mango, which is the underlying taste, though you would be hard-pressed to exclaim: I taste mango!

Then there is the "sauce" which is smooth like a nice thick syrup, and it contains all the flavors.

There is the sweetness of the mango and sugar, and there is the sour sweet of the lemon and lime, and there is the melding of all the spices. It's pretty tasty!

With a mouthful, it is a lot to take in. There is a sour element that can make your eyes close, but only for a brief moment. The mango is in little pieces that are soft and that disappear quickly. The little pieces of red pepper are (not hot) interlopers of chewy bits, perhaps the only thing that doesn't feel like it dissolves on its own.

Overall though it is a combination of everything into one. In use you would never view it as separate elements, only as one glorious flavor.

It's the complexity of all the flavors that makes it tongue smacking good!

In this weird world, food combination rules are out the window. I had chicken I was dicing up for my cat, and decided to slice myself some pieces. I had a hot dog bun (not a good one) that was going to go stale, so I toasted it, put mayo on it, then the dry chicken and topped it with mango chutney.

Under normal circumstances it would have been bearable, but not worth eating. Instead the mango chutney brought some life into an otherwise bad sandwich. It was a good test.

Just imagine what it would be like with Kerelan Mango Chicken!

Shop now for Hawkshead Relish Mango Chutney!