In the still summer
Night, gentle moonlight falls on
The cherry blossoms.
Summer rain sprinkles
The ripe cherries and sneaks through
The open windows.
Uncle John stops his
Truck on the roadside when he
Sees the cherry stand.
Important things happen in June: weddings, graduations, job interviews, moving out of the parents’ house, road trips, baseball, pilgrimages, opera in the park, fly-fishing, and summer picnics. Yes! picnics! As urgent as all these human activities may seem, let’s not forget our friend the Earth and all her significant events scheduled on the June calendar. Poppies will be popping out in golden bloom, and the catalpas, the chestnut trees and the dogwoods will still have blossoms among their glistening green leaves. Magnolias will grace the ancient old branches as the south grows warmer and the goldfinches and the wrens are busy in their nests. And the queens will return to the gardens and the ponds. Roses will arrive with honeysuckle as their ladies in waiting, along with the day lilies and sky-blue hydrangeas. The ponds will welcome the waterlilies, pink as the dawn and the sundown, while dragonflies, the fairies of the water world, glorify the mornings. And what will unite the busy humans with Mother Earth? Bright red cherries, sweet in their fleeting moment of grace.
In the dark summer
Night, under the crescent moon,
The red cherries gleam.
June heralds summer’s arrival, and I am guessing that some of you will participate in one or more of the activities listed above that traditionally take place in June. But even if there are no weddings or graduations on the family calendar this year, at the very least, we can celebrate summer’s arrival, as my brother John always does, by stopping at a roadside stand and buying a bag of fresh ripe cherries. And we can plan an early summer picnic. In my opinion, a summer picnic starts with cherries. I admit that cherries are my very favorite fruit, and one of my earliest blogs, back in 2016, was a celebration of a Cherry-Berry Tea which Kathleen and I hosted at her family home in Watsonville, California.
One avocado
Hangs from the gnarly old tree
Next to the cherries.
My June 2019 blog, “A Cherry Tea,” also shows you easy ways to incorporate fresh cherries and even cherry preserves into enticing tea party savories and sweets. This menu includes the recipe for Black Forest Brownies, a portable version of the German summer favorite: Black Forrest Cake, which combines dark chocolate layer cake with cherry filling topped with freshly whipped cream. I love everything about this dessert, but whipped cream is not really a practical idea for a summer picnic. However, rich and luscious Black Forest Brownies, topped with Cherry Preserves, can be stacked between layers of waxed paper and added to the picnic basket.
In bright summer sun,
A dragonfly’s shadow falls
On the white roses.
Strawberries are also ripe and ready to eat in June, along with several other garden favorites that are easy to include in a picnic: sugar snap peas, artichokes, green beans and asparagus. Any of these green vegetables can be quickly blanched or cooked in advance and marinated in Italian dressing, then packed in a plastic container with a tightly fitting lid and popped into the picnic basket along with the Black Forest Brownies. It would also be fun to make Strawberry Kebabs to accompany all the other fresh fruits and vegetables. Just lightly rinse and core some bright red ripe strawberries, gently dry them on paper towels, and impale them whole on bamboo skewers. You could alternate the strawberries with freshly pitted cherries and little chunks of mild mozzarella cheese if you wish. Make your kebobs shortly before you leave for your picnic destination and store them in a large zip-lock bag.
A lizard rests on
An old wooden bench near a
Pot of Thai basil.
If you are looking for more ideas for your first picnic of the summer, our website is filled with recipes and resources. A good starting place is the “July Picnic Tea” in the Tea Book section of myteaplanner.com. This classic menu reminds you that hydration is an important element of any picnic, so it’s good to bring along the ice chest stocked with Iced Tea, Lemonade and Sparkling Water. The Cold Fried Chicken Drumettes and the Deviled Eggs can also be nestled into the cooler along with the Curried Carrot and Raisin Salad. This menu also recommends including freshly prepared Banh Mi Sandwiches from a Vietnamese sandwich shop. If you have never had the pleasure of eating a Vietnamese sandwich, now is the time, as Vietnamese Sandwich shops can be found these days in every town and city in North America. A wide choice of fillings is available to enjoy on the soft and light freshly baked French Rolls that form the memorable foundation of these Vietnamese classics.
The low tide rolls out,
Leaving scattered pebbles and
One shell in the sand.
If you want to make your own sandwiches, savories and sweets, the “Tea Menu Basics” chapter of the Tea Book is filled with free recipes and easy procedures for making every kind of sandwich, dip, scone, tea bread, cookie and sweet, all of which would be welcome additions to your picnic basket. But don’t forget the cheese. Cheese travels well and can be enjoyed at outdoor temperatures, including the beach, the lake, the park, your back yard or a happy little road trip. And cheese requires no preparation. Just pick out one to three chunks of your favorite cheeses at your local grocery store or cheese shop and put them in the basket along with a small cutting board, a cheese knife and an assortment of crackers. And remember, cheese and fruit go well together, so you can add some grapes along with the cherries and strawberries, and everyone will be happy. As you finish packing up for your first picnic of the year, bring along a large trash bag and don’t leave behind a single cherry pit, chicken bone or bamboo skewer. The Earth will thank you for your thoughtfulness!
A school of golden
Koi gathers at the lake’s edge.
A night heron lands.
While the selections I have already recommended are enough to fill your picnic basket to the brim, I am a firm believer that every tea party, picnic or holiday gathering should include at least two desserts. It’s always nice to have a choice, and since cherry season lasts for such a short time, let’s have two cherry desserts for our first picnic of the year: Black Forest Brownies and Cherry Quiche.
Fresh Cherry Quiche
I am adapting the recipe for Cherry Quiche in Marlene Sorosky’s The Dessert Lover’s Cookbook. Marlene’s recipe calls for two sixteen-ounce cans of pitted dark sweet cherries, drained. If you don’t have the time to stem and pit about a pint of fresh cherries, or if the brief season when fresh cherries are available has passed or not yet arrived, Marlene’s version will work perfectly. To make your task even easier, I am recommending using a Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust instead of the homemade Cookie Pastry in Marlene’s recipe. This delicious summer dessert is really a cherry custard pie baked in a quiche pan. I use my ceramic quiche pan, a little flatter than most pie pans, and sturdy enough to travel in the picnic basket on top of the veggie containers and next to the sandwiches and the cheeses. This lightly sweetened quiche can be served warm or at ambient outdoor temperature.
- 1 round of refrigerated Pillsbury Pie Crust
- 2 cups (approximately) of fresh dark sweet cherries, stemmed and pitted, or enough to cover the bottom of the quiche pan in a single layer
Or 2 cans (16 ounces each) pitted dark sweet cherries, drained - 1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Special equipment: 9-inch porcelain or glass quiche pan or tart pan with removable bottom, fork, baking sheet, wire rack, disposable kitchen gloves, paper towels, medium sized mixing bowl, whisk, cherry pitting tool or paring knife
Makes: 6 servings
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F for pie crust
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F for quiche
- Make the crust for a one-crust pie following the instructions on the package. Fit the crust into the quiche pan, pressing it gently into the bottom, and trim the top edges with the top of the pan. Prick the bottom of the pastry with a fork, place the pan on a baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake the crust on the baking sheet in the lower third of the oven for 10 minutes. Cool the crust on the baking sheet on a wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Wearing disposable gloves, lightly rinse and stem the cherries and lay them on paper towels to dry. Pit the cherries with a tool or a paring knife and arrange the cherries in a single layer in the baked pastry shell. (Eat any leftover cherries yourself.)
- Whisk the egg lightly in a medium mixing bowl. Add the sugar and flour, whisking well to remove any lumps. Whisk in the whipping cream and the vanilla and pour the custard over the cherries in the pastry shell.
- Place the quiche on the baking sheet. Bake in the 350-degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the filling is set and the top is a light golden brown. Cool on the wire rack and serve warm or at room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers.
