I’ve been closely watching the local fruit trees this spring and it looks like it is going to be another, ahem, fruitful year of foraging. We picked serviceberries and cherries in record numbers beginning in late June/early July last year and I expect to glean as much if not more this summer.

I’ve got about a month to use up the fruit that remains in the freezer from last season’s expeditions in order to clear out space for the bounty I expect to harvest this year. One way we’ve been using it up is by making daily smoothies. This week I wanted to finish off a bag of sweet cherries and here’s how I’ve been preparing it:

RECIPE: Chocolate Cherry Almond Smoothie

I make all of my smoothies in a slap-dash way; no measurements, just common sense. As a result, I’ve provided an idea of how much to use, but no hard and fast amounts.

To a blender add: a handful or so of frozen pitted cherries, about a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, a few tablespoons of milk kefir (you can substitute with plain yoghurt. I make my own milk kefir so there is always a lot to use up), a drop or 2 of almond extract, and a few splashes of rice or almond milk. Add more or less depending on how thick or thin you prefer your smoothies. Blend until the cherries are thoroughly pureed and enjoy!

If you’d like to learn more about how and what I forage please see:

• A podcast with my friend and foraging partner, Abbey Huggan.
• The foraging tag on this site includes lots of info and recipes.
• An article I wrote about how I got started foraging (greens, not fruit) was published in issue no. 22 of Garden Making magazine (it’s on store shelves now).