David Ross

I'm just a couple hours drive from the cherry orchards around Wenatchee, WA. We've started to see the annual cherries show up in the markets. But what was unusual yesterday was the Rainier cherries were only $1.99 a pound. As Okanagancook mentioned, they are the yellow, red and orange multicolored cherries. Even locally they are more expensive than Bing cherries, usually about $4 a pound. But I found them at $1.99 a pound which is a fantastic bargain even around here. I usually just buy them as eating cherries.

I first learned of the term "cane berries" from my Father who for many years worked for the Oregon Agricultural Department in Salem. He headed up the various commodity commissions that are made up of farmers and ranchers who work with the State to promote their products among other things. The berries down there really sweeten up in July. Every Sunday we'd drive over to friends my Father knew who had a horse farm in Molalla, just west of Salem. The sides of those country roads are bursting with wild blackberries in summer and it's not at all unusual to see folks stopped along the roadside picking berries. Show that photo to my city friends today and they'd think I was poisoning myself by eating wild berries that had been exposed to car exhaust. Well, maybe, but I'm still standing and it beats spending $6.99 for a 3oz. plastic hallock of supermarket berries. Free, wild and sweet.

Oh my oh my. The last photo, with the ice cream is just about taken me to the moon and back! And it reminds me of many family summer dinners at my Grandmother's farmhouse in Prineville, Oregon where we would have blackberry cobbler or pie with homemade ice cream. That was in the days where we used that awful old hand crank ice cream bucket with salt and ice. And we turned and turned. But it was wonderful cranking that ice cream churn out on the porch and scooping it right there onto warm cobbler. Heck, now that I think about it I should go back to that method and leave the expensive electric ice cream machine, that weighs a ton, locked in the pantry! Or of course just buy a very good ice cream. So delicious everything you've shown us.

Here are two raspberry pastries I do every early summer when we see some local berries in Eastern Washington. We're about a month later than the growing season for raspberries West of the Cascade Mountains. The raspberry lemon bars are pretty simple. I make a bottom crust of melted butter and powdered sugar. That's it. Then a basic lemon bar filling, but I always double the recipe and triple the lemon juice. I boost it with some pure lemon extract. Then cool, dust with powdered sugar and fresh raspberries. All I do is just put the raspberries on top. Then the same crust, crème anglaise and again just fresh raspberries from the local farmer's market on top. I haven't made either of these this season, but will this coming week!

Summer is the best time of year for a cook. The time of year when the bounty of Mother Nature is literally at our fingertips each day. One of the stars of any summer table is the variety of cane berries that grow throughout the season. Many people haven't heard the term "cane berry." The most well-known cane berries are the raspberry and the blackberry. Raspberries and blackberries can be found year-round in the supermarket sitting in small plastic clamshell containers and commanding a high price. Yet there are other delicious cane berries that are absent from the supermarket but are just as juicy and delicious. Summer delivers the loganberry and boysenberry and other regional favorite cane berries. I hail from the Willamette Valley in western Oregon where we proudly introduced the marionberry in 1956. (The marionberry is a cross between the Chehalem and Ollalieberry that grown in regions west of the Cascade Mountains). Cane berries are part of the rose family of plants. And like roses, cane berries have long stems (canes), some are studded with prickly little thorns. Some say that the fruit of a cane berry has the sweet fragrance of rose petals. One thing we can all agree on is that cane berries adapt well to changes in the weather, but the thrive in hot sun. Yet the cane berry doesn't always have a glowing reputation. Some people consider the blackberry to be a noxious weed that flourishes alongside rural roadsides and along creeks and canals. By the end of summer a wild blackberry patch can literally consume a road. I've seen helpless county road crews try to wrangle with a blackberry patch only to see it come back even stronger just a few weeks later. Cane berries have numerous possibilities when it comes to the kitchen and bar. They go into cocktails and cordials, cobblers, pies and pastries. And it doesn't end at the doorstep of sweets. Cane berries add tart, sweet, fruit flavor to grilled meats, blended into compotes, chutneys and rich meat reduction sauces. I happen to like cane berries in a summer salad with soft triple crème cheese then tossed with a classic French vinaigrette. Let's take a trip to the local farmer's market or trek into the blackberry row and pick some ripe, sweet berries to present at the table of eG Cook-Off #78: The Cane Berries of Summer. (See the complete eG Cook-Off Index here.) Oregon Marionberries-

This is the recipe from Simply French written by Patricia Wells and was one of America's first looks at the recipes of Chef Robuchon. I was at a private dinner in Las Vegas in 2005 and took my cookbook down there for him to sign. The book had come out in 1991 and here I was with the tattered pages for him to sign. The Cherry Clafoutis recipe had been loose for years. He had a big smile on his face as I sensed he was very proud that someone would come to meet him with this cookbook. At the time, he was a French Chef who had come to America with a recipe for "Puree de Pommes de Terre." It would quickly become a potato recipe for the ages.

My annual Cherry Clafouti. The WA cherry crop is a little late this year as it was last year, but the cherries are huge and sweet. These are dark Bing cherries from the Yakima Valley, which is the richest agricultural region in our state. I usually soak the cherries overnight in Kirsch, but I didn't have any so this year I used Maker's Mark Kentucky Bourbon. What a match, cherries soaked in bourbon. I use a recipe from Simply French by Patricia Wells that is recipes from Joel Robuchon. It's my most cherished cookbook as Chef Robuchon signed it for me some years ago when I met him in Las Vegas.

Sometimes I fry them whole these were cut in quarters and then fried. Sometimes I cut out the backbone and butterfly them and fry. All delicious

Fried......Game Hens. Back in the '60s and '70's, my Father worked at the Oregon Dept. of Agriculture and was the State liason to the Oregon Fryer Commission. Back then we could always buy "fryer" chickens that were in the 3 1/2 lb. range. Just perfect for frying. Then we could get a "roaster," a "rooster" or a "stewing hen." All different sizes depending on how we wanted to cook the bird. But where I live today all we get are chickens in the 5lb. class give or take a few ounces. They might be labeled free-range, organic or any of the other monikers of the day, but they're all basically the same weight. We'll never see a poussin, but might get lucky if on occasion one of the farmers at our small Saturday market has some young chickens. Anyway, I prefer game hens for frying because they are small, tender, stay juicy and are easy to eat. And they fry up quickly and perfectly. I change the recipe all the time, different flours, different seasonings, rarely battered but sometimes dipped in egg then flour, sometimes deep-fried but more often fried in a skillet. These game hens were dredged in a combination of all-purpose flour and cornmeal, then egg wash, then flour, then into 365 oil for about 8 minutes. This time I used canola oil, but I think next time I'll go with vegetable oil. Back in the day Grandmother used pure lard.....

This is a simple little raspberry tart with lemon curd that I do every year at this time. Just a shortbread pastry in a small mold, lemon curd and fresh raspberries. It's good with whipped cream or ice cream. I couldn't find an old photo but I also do a raspberry napoleon with layers of puff pastry, lemon curd and raspberries, then a dusting of powdered sugar on top. Not fancy but easy to make and delicious when the raspberries are in season.

This was a dish that evolved over a few days. I started with two different bottled mole sauces from Dona Maria-The Pipian and regular Mole. I blended those together with some red enchilada sauce, water, liquid smoke, chicken stock, garlic and bay leaf, Mexican oregano. I was really just winging it at that point. Then added enough water so it wasn't too thick. The first night I used chicken quarters braised in a slow oven in the sauce. It turned out pretty good, but as I do a lot, I started to tinker with it the next day. I pulled off the chicken meat off the bone and simmered it in some of the extra mole sauce. Served with rice seasoned with achiote powder, tomato, peas, chili powder. I think the chicken would be realy good if I cooked it low and slow in my outdoor smoker. Garnished with cojita cheese and cilantro. I forgot the pickled red onions I had made!

I'm still on the search for local morel mushrooms in the market, but I found this dish I did back in 2011 for our Copper River Salmon discussion thread. Now I really need some morels. An idea for you @Darienne Copper River Salmon with Morel Custard and Fava Beans-

I found another asparagus dish from a discussion thread we had back in 2011 talking about Copper River Salmon. It's a dish with a lot of ingredients and steps, but on occasion I'll go all out like this. But you can also just take a few of the elements to make the prep easier and gets just as good of a result. The salmon and Asparagus Veloute along with Asparagus Salad and Vinaigrette would be delicious. Copper River Salmon, Asparagus Veloute' , Shaved Asparagus Salad, Hazelnuts and Oil, Apple Cider Vinaigrette.

It's also good with some crispy prosciutto. Just take a slice of prosciutto and crisp it in a non-stick pan. Sort of like incredibly thin bacon. Then either lay it on the tart or crumble it on top.

Didn't get a photo of the last asparagus dish, but it's so simple. Just take some store bought puff pastry. Cut into rectangles. Brush with egg wash, then put on some asparagus in a single layer. Then a little parmesan. Basically a puff pastry with asparagus. It's really good with grilled asparagus then a pass under the broiler to melt the cheese.

What a great morning! I was reminded by Facebook of a post some 11 years ago. And it's the dish I've been searching for weeks to find so I could share it in our Asparagus Cook-Off. Fried Sweetbreads with Asparagus. I get sweetbreads from D'Artagnan. The asparagus spears were simply blanched and I think the sauce was a thin asparagus cream soup. I didn't write down the recipe, but I remember it fairly well. It would also be good with fried oysters or shrimp or some fried chicken livers.

So simple. Just make dashi, then add as much miso as you'd like. I blanced the asparagus separately, but you could also cook it in the broth. Then just a cube of firm tofu. I thought about adding green onion or maybe a fried onion garnish, but thought it best to leave it bare to highlight the asparagus.

A simple asparagus dish I did last night. I've been making a lot of miso soup in the past year. Starting with a basic dashi broth and then adding miso, I found it a quick and deeply flavorful soup that adapts really well to all sorts of additional ingredients. And while I was recovering from two orthopedic surgeries it was easy to make, yet far more satisfying than terrible frozen dinners. Last night was simply homemade dashi and some white miso. The white miso was what I had in the fridge but sometimes I use red miso. Then blanch asparagus and a square of firm tofu. Really brought out the texture and fresh flavor of the asparagus.

Delicious and now I've got that on my asparagus recipe list!

And I thought I couldn't get any luckier. Today this fresh WA asparagus was in the market for $ 1.46lb. Last week it was $1.79. It's been harvested about a 2-hour drive from where I live down in the Columbia Basin area that stretches from Walla Walla over to the Tri-Cities area. It's been delicious and I've never seen the price this low. But low price hasn't meant poor quality this season.

Shelby I make the same salad. Sometimes I'll scatter some fried onions or bacon over the egg. Delicious.

The crop of morels was very good two years ago, and fairly good last year. Up here we always go by the previous wildfire season. If the fires are especially bad, the spores travel through that hot wind and find a new home in another part of the forest. We should have asparagus into June and then it will trail off. Sometimes I'll freeze some to use in a creamed soup. I also use asparagus soup as the base for a nice pasta sauce.

Going through some of my archived food photos to get some ideas on asparagus dishes, I found this forgotten gem that I crafted as a spring dish with a Pacific Northwest theme-crispy-fried oysters, asparagus and wild morels (all from our region), along with fava beans, crispy prosciutto and celery leaf. (Needed more dressing as I see it). Asparagus isn't the only main attraction here, but it sure plays a big role.

This is an asparagus appetizer dish I did for Easter. Simple blanched asparagus with sliced cucumber, then some lox-style salmon. Lemon mayonnaise dressing. The little pastry in the upper right corner is a savory gougere made with parmesan and then filled with a smoked salmon mouse. Without the asparagus it would be pretty bland.

Speaking about phyllo or puff pastry. I've done a sort of asparagus napoleon with layers of pastry, then a thick mayonnaise accented with tarragon, poached asparagus and off it goes with a few more layers. It's good just like that, but I've also added an herb salad on the side. I've even had a version of this type of dish at a fussy wedding reception. Well, the wedding was fussy but the asparagus was good.