It would be nearly impossible to have a “summer fresh fruit week” without a pie or two…or three.

I’m so into the refrigerated pie crust that Connor turned me onto, that I bought a half-dozen boxes when I found them on sale at Safeway.

They are in the freezer and I’m “pie-ready” for the summer!

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You didn’t think I’d do a week of “Stone Fruit” recipes without making a pie, a crisp, or a crumble – did you?

Of course, you didn’t!

This is one of the easiest and tastiest desserts around … a stone fruit crumble. Enjoy!

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On this, the third day of “Stone Fruit” Week, we’ll use both fresh and dried cherries and apricots, along with plum, a peach, and a pear – tossed in for good measure.

I also threw in some of the delicious Trader Joe’s Golden Berry Blend; a wonderful mix of golden raisins, dried cranberries, cherries, and blueberries. If you don’t have the blend, use the same amount of golden raisins in its place.

This compote is the perfect complement to chicken and pork.

It also makes a tasty treat served at room temperature over Greek yogurt, ice cream, or frozen yogurt.

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“Stone Week” continues with this main course recipe using both fresh and dried cherries.

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For Monday’s cooking class, our menu was “breakfast”.  The luscious ending to our meal was a cherry crumble. To me, cherries are the epitome of summer. As soon as I see them appearing in the market, my eyes and taste buds light up, especially for the Rainier cherries! Unfortunately, Rainiers are not yet in season or readily available here, so we used Bing cherries today. Either variety is wonderful and oh so very pretty in this summertime dessert.

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Mostarda and Lamb’s main ingredients

Mostarda di Frutta is an Italian condiment made of candied fruit in a mustard-flavored syrup. It is served with boiled, roasted, or grilled meats, and is a fabulous accompaniment to cheeses.

The rack of lamb is “Frenched” which means the meat, fat, and membranes that connect the individual rib bones are scraped or trimmed away from the end of the bone down to about two inches above the rib-eye area. This is generally done on lamb chops, veal rib chops, or a crown pork roast. Frenched racks and chops can be purchased already done or you can “French” them on your own at home. Click this link for a great video demonstration from Fine Cooking on how to French a rack of lamb. If you do decide to French the lamb yourself, discard the fat and membrane, but be sure to save all meat scraps and use them as stew meat or grind to make into lamb burgers.

Wild rice is not true rice or a grain, but grass native to the Great Lakes region of North America. It is gluten-free and is a good source of potassium, phosphorus, thiamine, and riboflavin.  Wild rice needs much more water and cooking time than white or brown rice; the water ratio is about 4 to 1.  It takes about an hour to cook and not all the water is absorbed, the excess is drained away.  Because of the long cooking time, I generally make a double batch and use half of it for another meal. Another common way to serve wild rice is to mix it with brown rice; this half-and-half combination makes it tasty and budget-friendly since wild rice is more expensive than other types of rice.

garlic, herbs, and salt before – and after mincing into a paste

There is a garlic-herb paste rubbed on the lamb and topping the tomatoes.  A little bit of kosher salt is used in the mix, its purpose is to help break down the garlic, it makes a big difference in the texture of this paste and is always a great technique to use the next time you make aioli too.
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