Ever since I developed my recipe for fajita seasoning, I’ve been pretty lazy on the taco recipe front. The fajita seasoning is sooo versatile: virtually any taco, fajita, quesadilla, etc. can be fully-flavored with it. Plus, it’s quick to make with spices that I always have on hand. I go through batches of it at a fairly rapid clip.

But in the throes of my recent love affair with sweet cherries, I stumbled across this recipe. Pork, rubbed with a paste of garlic, lime, and ground chipotle and topped with charred onions, peppers, queso fresco, and a bright, cherry salsa studded with cilantro and lime Um, YES.

These tacos are delightfully flavorful. The smoky chipotle plays nicely with the bright, sweet, fruity cherries and limes. And while I typically look to chicken or steak for my tacos, the pork is really the best canvas here. The rub and the salsa can be made well in advance, but they certainly don’t have to. This is definitely a weeknight-worthy operation.

This batch makes enough filling for about 8 tacos, but it can easily be changed to feed a crowd. Plus, if you store the different toppings separately, this makes INCREDIBLE leftovers.

So if you, like me, have not yet released your grip on summer cherries, put these tacos on your to do list for the week.

Pork Tacos with Cherry-Lime Salsa
Adapted from Eating Well

Makes about 8 tacos

For the Pork
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground chipotle pepper
zest of two limes
4 tsp fresh lime juice
1 lb pork tenderloin (I used strips for mine, but that’s just what I had on hand)

Mince garlic. Combine garlic and salt in a bowl and press with a spoon (or use a mortar and pestle) until it forms a paste. Add chipotle, lime zest, and lime juice and mix well. Rub paste all over pork. Refrigerate until other ingredients are prepared.

For the Salsa
1 c pitted & chopped fresh sweet cherries (use dark red if you can for the drama!)
1/4 c finely chopped cilantro
4 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground chipotle pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small dish and set aside. You’ll add some onion once you’ve charred it, so keep the salsa close by.

Assembly
3 T canola oil, divided
1 medium white or yellow onion, sliced in half-moons
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
2-3 cranks freshly ground black pepper
pinch of course salt
3/4 c crumbled queso fresco
8 taco-sized flour or white-corn tortillas

Heat two medium-sized skillets over medium and add 1 1/2 T of oil to each one. In one pan, add the onions, peppers, pepper, and salt. Toss frequently until onions and peppers are slightly charred and have softened slightly, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, add the seasoned pork to the other pan. Cook until pork reaches a 145°F internal temperature and all sides are golden-brown.

Remove 6-7 slices of onion and chop finely. Add these to the cherry salsa.

To warm tortillas, place in the oven at 170°F on a cookie sheet that has another cookie sheet as a lid for 5-10 minutes. The lid will prevent the tortillas from becoming crispy. Or, place them in a stack on a plate with another plate as a lid and microwave for 30 seconds.

Add a bit of pork, peppers and onions, salsa, and queso fresco to each tortilla.

One of the most amazing but frustrating things about moving all the time is that I am constantly re-learning local produce. While most of the produce itself has remained the same from city to city and state to state, the timing has shifted a month or two or even three in different climates. But tree fruit. Tree fruit has been the one genre of produce that has just been completely unpredictable as I’ve moved from place to place. DC’s tree fruit scene was insanely awesome. Durham, on the other hand, not so much (though GOD I miss the blueberries.) Columbus had great apples and decent peaches, but not really any cherries or plums to speak of.

Moving back to Colorado, I knew I would return to a land of great, high-altitude peaches from Palisade and other farming communities on the Western Slope. But I did not expect the cherries.

Oh em gee the cherries!

Colorado has had rather a bumper crop this  year, and I’m obsessed. For weeks now, I’ve been eating them faster than I can buy them. In fact I COMPLETELY missed strawberry season because I was so distracted by these round little rubies. Which, actually, is fine with me because the cherry is my new number one.

And not just for dessert. I’ve been playing around with this savory cherry jam and I’m kind of really into it. It’s a super-quick roasted refrigerator jam that, aside from pitting a pound of cherries, is pretty hands off. Nice and smoky with a smoked paprika, it’s very, very tasty.

This jam is crazy good on pork chops. I smeared some on crackers with cream cheese while I was stress-eating at work and it was utterly delightful. And my favorite use so far was as a condiment to elevate what was a pretty basic sandwich.

Try it! Love it! Buy a cherry pitter to make even more of it!

Savory Cherry Jam
Adapted from Eating Well

Note: I have not tested the pH of this jam to determine if it is safe for water-bath canning. Stick this is as a fridge jam for now.

1 lb (about 2 cups) sweet cherries, pitted and halved
juice from 1/2 a naval orange (about 1/4 c)
1/2 T fresh thyme (or 1/4 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3-4 cranks freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine all ingredients in a small baking dish. Roast for 35-40 minutes, stirring several times, until cherries are softened and juices have thickened.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

I have this issue with cheesecake. The issue is that if it is in my fridge, or available for purchase on a dessert menu, or available for purchase within walking distance, or even capable of being created with ingredients in my apartment, I have exactly 0% ability to resist it. As a result I make a point of not buying cream cheese very often. If I don’t have that one essential component, I can pretend that I’m happy living a life where I don’t eat cheesecake every single day for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert, right Right??

I live for good cheesecake. But I am kind of picky about what makes one good. There are few things more disappointing than cheesecake that looks delicious and is, well, meh. If it’s too lemony or too dry or too rich or too dense or has too much topping or not enough or has too many mix-ins or just a gross combo of them or the crust is too thick or some crazy person put CINNAMON in it I get really cranky.

Most of the time, when it’s time to make cheesecake again, I fall back on two, trusty recipes I’ve used for a long time. The first is a classic, baked cheesecake that, actually, I’ve only shared here in a version dressed up for Thanksgiving. The other I fashion exclusively in miniature form, a holiday tradition in my family as essential as the tree and the Home Alone soundtrack.

But this summer, I’ve been reveling in the availability of locally-grown sweet cherries (difficult to obtain in both Columbus and Durham), and a cherry cheesecake seemed like just the ticket. And while we are “enjoying” the high-nineties here in Denver, I’m pleased to report that the oven was only on for a few minutes, and even that is not totally required if you don’t want to.

The crust is made of vanilla wafers, but you can easily swap in graham cracker crumbs if you like. They’ll need to be finely ground, which you can do with a food processor (lots of cleaning) or with a plastic bag and rolling pin or meat tenderizer (not much cleaning and way more fun). I like my crusts a little toasty, so I blast it in the oven for a bit, but you can also eat this sucker raw. Your call.

The filling is composed of a magical dairy medley: cream cheese, goat cheese, sour cream, and heavy cream. Also sugar and vanilla and lemon juice. Because the cream is whipped and folded into the tart cheese mixture, it creates a somewhat airy cheesecake that will likely give you a false sense of empowerment when evaluating how many slices to wolf down.

Then, for an agonizing two hours, we wait. Because this recipe doesn’t benefit from the structure of eggs baked into the cake, it finds its structure in the freezer. After freezing, move it to the fridge for 45 minutes before serving so you’re not actually serving cheesecake ice cream. (On second thought, that sounds amazing and I should try serving it frozen next time.)

While the cake is freezing, it’s time to make the most seductive looking fruit sauce in the known universe. I mean it, this stuff is SULTRY. Composed of fresh cherries, sugar, balsamic vinegar, and just a bit if corn starch to thicken up the juices, it’s simple and beautiful and a perfect celebration of this gorgeous tree fruit. Half of the cherries are added to the mixture raw at the very end, which lends a fresh bite that’s typically hard to find in pie toppings, pie fillings, and the like.

I mean SERIOUSLY.

Chill the cherry sauce for a while so it doesn’t melt your cheesecake when you add it. Once it and your cheesecake are ready for serving, pop the ring off the springform pan and top generously.

As a side note, the cherries are extremely delicious on their own, so it’s totally cool if you want to add extra to each slice once it is served. Or eat them with a spoon for breakfast.

This cheesecake will allegedly last a week in the fridge, but that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.

(Almost) No-Bake Cheesecake with Fresh Cherry Sauce
Adapted from Martha Stewart

Note: The (Almost) in this recipe is there because I like a toasted crumb crust, even in the summer. BUT. You can definitely eat the crust raw. Just put the whole pan in the fridge after you’ve pressed the crust into the base until you are ready to add the filling.

For the Crust
6 oz vanilla wafers, finely ground
4 T salted butter
2 T granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 450°F. Grind vanilla wafers in a food processor, or, to make your life easier, crush them in a gallon-sized zippered bag with a rolling pin or blunt meat tenderizer. Combine crumbs, melted butter, and sugar in the bottom of a 9″ springform pan. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan with a fork. Bake for 10 minutes, then refrigerate until filling is ready.

For the Filling
1 c sour cream, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
4 oz soft goat cheese, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2/3 c granulated sugar
1 c heavy cream, chilled

Beat sour cream, cream cheese, goat cheese, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and 1/3 c of sugar in a stand mixer until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl several times to ensure smoothness. Remove mixture to a medium bowl.

Whip the remaining 1/3 c sugar and the cream until soft peaks form. Fold into cheese mixture until evenly distributed. Spread evenly into the crust. Freeze for at least two hours, then refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before serving.

For the Topping
12 oz fresh sweet cherries, halved and pitted
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 T corn starch
1 T water

In a small glass or bowl, mix together the corn starch and water. Set aside. In a small pot, combine half of the cherries, sugar, and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat and cover, simmering for 5 more minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook for another 2-3 minutes until sauce has thickened slightly. Remove from heat and add in remaining cherries.

To serve, spread the cherry mixture over the cheesecake, slice, and enjoy. Or, spoon the cherries over each slice individually.