RECIPE: Cherry Blueberry Crisp

I'm not a big believer in kitchen "gadgets", but you will need a cherry pitter for this recipe. Unless you want your kitchen to look like a Dexter crime scene, get one with a guard that keeps the juice from going everywhere. That said, even the pitters with guards still splatter quite a bit, so wear an old shirt while pitting your cherries. There are only a few weeks of overlap between blueberry and cherry season (at least good cherries), so if you want the best quality, early summer is best for this dish (in NC anyhow).

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs. ripe sweet cherries (look for the darkest cherries you can find - the old saying is true).
1 pint blueberries
1-3 T. granulated sugar (this varies depending on the sweetness of your berries)
Zest of one lemon
2 T. cornstarch
1 T. vanilla

Topping:
2 c. granola without raisins (I like the ginger kind)
1 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c. brown sugar
6 t. butter, cut into 1 t. portions
1 t. salt (skip this if using salted butter)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine cherries, blueberries, sugar, zest, cornstarch and vanilla in a bowl and combine until cornstarch is evenly distributed.

Transfer to a greased 2.5 quart baking dish. (You can also make these individually, by using small souffle dishes).

In a a food processor, pulse topping ingredients 4-5 times. (**If you don't have a food processor, combine all ingredients except butter in a Ziploc bag and roll over it with a rolling pin several times - add to fruit and dot with small pieces of butter).

Top fruit with granola mixture and bake for 30-40 minutes, until topping is golden and fruit is bubbling.

Let cool slightly. This is best served warm (not hot) with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.