One of the things I believe is, you can taste the love people put into their food. If you don’t believe it, have Mom cook you a meal and if Mom isn’t around, find someone who is passionate about food and watch them cook and then taste their food. Now find someone who hates being in the kitchen or looks at cooking as a chore and let me know which meal you prefer. I am sure there is a portion of it is knowledge and time in the kitchen, but an ingredient you can’t buy is love or passion.
Prime example. Take sliced beef, toss it in a pot with mushrooms and onions and soya sauce and make a pot of rice. Sure sounds like a boring weeknight meal that anyone can put together. Now, toss your Mom into the mix and you have this delicious dinner that is hearty and warming, seasoned perfectly, extra tender beef and even the Minute Rice is divine. I’ve tried and for some reason, this can not be reproduced in my kitchen with my hands. We have the same pots, buy the beef at the same place, use the same soy sauce and even the same blue box of Minute Rice. The only factor is, Mom.
See where I’m going here?
Today is Valentine’s day and posted above is one of the treats I made for Granny Canuck and Mrs. Canuck around the campfire one summer, long before I started this blog. After a long day in the sun and wanting some ice cream, the desire came just as the sun was setting at the taste of BBQ steak was starting to leave our taste buds. We needed something sweet and needed it quick.
I ran into the camper eager to find something that involved ice cream and came across the in-season cherries we bought fresh the day before at the local market. Looked on the counter and saw a bag of granola and within seconds I had it. Sweet, cold, hot, creamy, crunchy all in one and knew it was going to be a hit.
Here is a quick rundown of what I did and to be honest what I would do again if I were to make it, as I didn’t write it down and going by my very limited memory.
Stuff You Need
- cherries, a good bag full
- 1-2oz orange liqueur, optional orange juice
- sugar to taste, optional stevia sweetener.
- good premium ice cream
- granola, we get unsweetened stuff usually from the local bulk store or Kashi.
Stuff You Do
- Pit cherries and place in a pot with sugar and liqueuer or orange juice and place over medium heat or in our case, warm coals on an open fire. If you are using stevia or artificial sweetener, leave it out until step 2.
- Cook cherries until they break down until it’s thick and syrupy. If you are using stevia or artificial sweetener, you can add it now.
- Let mixture cool a little as not to instantly melt the ice cream.
- Assembly, ice cream, cherry compote, granola and garnish with a fresh cherry.
- Last but not least, enjoy!
A special tribute to my Valentines of a picture I did many years ago on our anniversary and today and each and every day it remains true.
The Hungry Canuck 