Food

We've grown happily accustomed to the pints of Rainiers and Tartarians, Bings and Queen Anne's, filling the market pints like big, ruby marbles. Maybe we've loaded them into cobblers and muffins, and now need a little inspiration — nothing too fancy, but recipes with a slightly unexpected spin.

Try a flat-out gorgeous whole-grain bread studded with cherries like garnets. Spill a pound of halved scarlet Bings into a bowl with basic quick bread ingredients — whole wheat flour and brown sugar give the crumb a nutty, earthy flavor — then add toasted pine nuts, some fragrant fennel seeds. A simple mix-bake-cool and you've got a tasty breakfast.

Cherries are best known in desserts, either farmhouse rustic or in dainty pastry shop configurations, but they have a terrific affinity for main courses too.

Make a quick relish of chopped cherries — Bings or Tartarians or any ripe red cherry — red onion and yellow bell pepper. Add a splash of lemon, another of balsamic vinegar. Then stir in fresh minced tarragon: The faint anise flavor of the tarragon is an unexpected note. Pair the easy chutney with grilled meat or chicken — or duck, which is sublime with cherries.