Rainy Day Treat

Rain , Rain come and play , Come and play with us today. Relax our minds and fill our souls. As you did in the days of old. ( this is a little poem we made up when we are in need of rain )

The weather has been something to be discussed by all , all over the country people are dealing with temps. above and beyond. It is no different here in Florida. Today however we are going to be blessed with rain. Yes , Life giving Rain!!! Who doesn't love some good old comfort food on a rainy day? For my family and I we love days like these , it is so relaxing and the fact that it cleans the air and cools off the temps. But the best thing is the fact that we enjoy warm comfort foods which not only fill our body's but our hearts and souls as well. If you think back to a younger you I am sure you will think of something that moves you on a rainy day. Maybe you to could try to create that feeling of fullness for your mind and body when the rains bless you with a visit by making a simple and memorable comfort food.

I have plenty of cherries left over from my jam making and thought what would be nice to make for my family? What better then a Cherry Crumble?  Since we are having roasted  chicken , mashed potatoes and some of my canned green beans this sounded like the perfect dessert. Most people would make this just before serving but I am realistic in the fact that once I am finished eating and cleaning up I don't want to have to go back into the kitchen to make dessert. So I make mine 2 - 3 hours before dinner , I also use a glass baking dish and place it on a wood cutting board this helps to keep it warm as well. There are many different recipes out there some use oatmeal in the topping but the over all concepts are all the same. Simple , healthy and inexpensive ingredients. Keep in mind that this is something to make when the fruit is in season and if not go to your pantry and pull out your jams that you canned earlier in the year. 

For cherry mixture
4 cups pitted, fresh cherries
4 tbsp sugar (this will produce a mildly sweet crumble. add more sugar if you like)
8 tbsp water
1 tsp corn starch

For crumb topping ( my family and I like extra topping so you may want to cut this in half for a lighter topping )
1 1/2 cup flour
6 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp white sugar
a pinch of ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted plus more to butter baking dish

Preheat oven to 400 f

Pit Cherries. 

Place the pitted cherries and sugar in a saucepan. Cook on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes or untill the cherries are lightly softened. Mix in corn starch and water. Cook for about 1 minute or till the mixture thickens.

To make the streusel or crumb topping, combine the flour, brown and white sugars, cinnamon and salt together. 

Mix well. Then pour in the cooled melted butter. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until it forms a crumbly mixture.

Lightly butter or non stick spray an 8 x 8 baking dish . 

Place the crumb topping on top and bake for 15 minutes or till the topping has lightly browned. 

Serve warm with ice cream  :)