Canapés with star quality. Photo by Katharine Pollak | THE NIBBLE.

For July 4th celebrations, these star crackers add surprise and delight.

Turn them into red, white and blue canapés with raspberry jam, brie and a blueberry garnish anchored with a dab of blueberry jam.

Or, present the crackers in a basket with different spreads and dips, and let guests create their own snacks.

For a sweet treat, mix 3 tablespoons black raspberry liqueur into 8 ounces mascarpone cheese (don’t over-mix—the mascarpone becomes too soft). Spread or pipe the mascarpone onto the star crackers; top with two raspberries, a blueberry and a small mint leaf.

The crackers are made by one of our favorite companies, Valley Lahvosh Baking Co.

Lahvosh, also spelled lavash and lahvash, is an Armenian flatbread made with wheat flour, water and salt. When fresh, lahvosh is soft and thin like a tortilla, and is used as a sandwich wrap for kebabs and other foods.

The fresh lahvosh hardens into a crunchy cracker consistency, which is how it is most often found in the U.S.—typically sold in boxes of long strips topped with toasted sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic or other seasonings. It’s a very popular part of the bread basket in some restaurants.

Among other favorites in the Valley Lahvosh line are heart-shaped crackers (for engagement parties, Valentine’s Day, etc.) and Lucky Lahvosh, an assortment of crackers shaped like clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades.

Each year, roughly 1 out of 6 Americans (48 million people) becomes ill, 128,000 are hospitalized and 3,000 actually die from foodborne diseases.

These safety tips from the American Dietetic Association/ConAgra Foods Home Food Safety Program may make the difference between a refreshing meal or snack and food poisoning.

 
Don’t forget that carry-out and fast foods are also susceptible to food poisoning.

*Shelf stable foods are those that require no refrigeration, except for storing the remainder of the container after the package is opened.

Learn more at HomeFoodSafety.org.

Rainer cherries are now in stores. We got
ours at Trader Joe’s. Photo courtesy
Washington State Fruit Commission.

Cherries are a healthy snack food on their own, but also consider them as recipe ingredients. Just for starters:

 
Northwest Cherries, an association of growers, has a wealth of fresh cherry recipes, from breakfast to appetizers, salads, mains and of course, desserts.

TIP: Make life easier: Buy a cherry pitter. You can also use it to pit olives. Here’s an excellent basic cherry pitter, plus a more complex one for faster pitting.

Calories In Cherries
Cherries have a bad rap as a more “fattening” fruit. A single cherry contains about 5 calories; a cup of cherries with pitts, 87 calories; a cup of pitted cherries, 97 calories.

Cherries & Health
A growing number of Americans are drinking cherry juice 365 days a year. Tart red cherries contain significant levels of 17 different antioxidants, including anthocyanins and melatonin. Reports about cherry health benefits are promising. Antioxidants can help fight cell damage, which produces cancer and heart disease.

You’ll want to get guidance from your healthcare provider, but according to the Cherry Marketing Institute, to date no other fruit or vegetable has been found to have the pain-relieving properties of tart cherries.

Anthocyanin, one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants, is a natural Cox-2 inhibitor that can relieve the pain of arthritis, gout and possibly fibromyalgia for many people. Ongoing research at Michigan State University and the University of Texas at San Antonio shows that tart cherries contain enough anthocyanins to help relieve the pain of these diseases, and can be a safe alternative to drugs such as Vioxx and Celebrex for the relief of pain from arthritis.

CHERRY TRIVIA: Cherries have been eaten since prehistoric times. Wild cherry trees grew throughout Europe, western Asia and parts of northern Africa. The word cherry (cerise in French, cereza in Spanish) derives from a city in northern Turkey—Cerasus in the Roman Empire, Giresun today—from which the cherry was first exported to Europe.

A deep red syrup used for hundreds of years to flavor and give a reddish/pink tinge to drinks and other recipes, true grenadine is made from pomegranate juice and sugar syrup. The name comes from the French grenade and the Spanish grenada, words for pomegranate.

Alas, today’s mass-marketed “grenadine” is faux grenadine, containining neither pomegranate nor sugar. If you want to pour HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) into your drink, go ahead.

Otherwise, look for artisan brands and check the label.

Or, make your own grenadine. Here’s the recipe.

Making grenadine syrup couldn’t be easier. And once you’ve made a batch, you can use it to make dozens of delicious recipes: not just drinks, but everything from mains to desserts.

And you can give it as gifts.

Updated retro: goat cheese-stuffed celery
with pomegranate arils. Blueberries not
shown. Photo and recipe courtesy Pom
Wonderful.

An update of the 1950s classic, this stuffed celery recipe replaces the old school cream cheese and pimento-stuffed olives with goat cheese and capers.

For July 4th, the white goat cheese is accented with red pomegranate arils and blueberries. You can also substitute blue cheese.

For Christmas, switch out the blueberries and put extra green capers on top of the goat cheese.

Stuffed Celery Ingredients

Stuffed Celery Preparation

1. If using a whole fresh pomegranate, score and place in a bowl of water. Break open the pomegranate underwater to free the arils. The arils will sink to the bottom of the bowl and the membrane will float to the top.

2. Sieve the arils and place in a separate bowl. You only need half the arils (1/2 cup); refrigerate or freeze the rest. Or put them to work on the holiday menu: in a salad or cocktails, or as a tray garnish.

2. Clean six stalks of celery; cut into four pieces each and set aside.

3. Mix together goat cheese, green onion and optional capers, if desired.

4. Using a knife, fill each piece of celery with cheese mixture.

5. Divide the arils and blueberries evenly and press onto the cheese. Lightly press down the blueberries.

6. Serve chilled.