Cherries

"Cherries!?" Almost everyone who passed the Murray Family Farms stand at the Santa Monica farmers market on Wednesday blurted out this word in varied tones of delight, surprise, and skepticism. Delight at the sight of the first stone fruit of the season; surprise, because cherries usually have not shown up at the market until a bit later, in early May; and skepticism that such early fruit could taste good. And it's true, all too often the first cherries of the season have been a disappointing tease — tart, soft, or tasteless.

- Early cherries are reason enough to head to the farmers market, but be careful. Erratic winter chill, freezes during bloom, hail and late rains have made for a short crop of early cherries from the southern San Joaquin Valley. But there's still plenty of great fruit available at farmers markets for those who take care to select fresh, ripe cherries of the best varieties. In the last decade, the task has become trickier, but potentially more rewarding, with the arrival of new and unfamiliar varieties.

First chocolate milk, now cherry juice. The list of possible sports recovery drinks -- and their proponents -- is growing longer. Billing their cherry sports beverage as the "Ultimate Recovery Drink," entrepreneurs seeking a piece of the lucrative power drink market say their formula could help athletes recover from a tough workout -- and they have a small study to support their claim.

Please don't take this wrong. You look absolutely fine the way you are. It's just that ... well, with a little work, you might look even better. We're not talking plastic surgery. Just the daily grind of buckling down and trying to eat better. Fresh from the March issue of the journal PLoS ONE comes word that scarfing down a few extra fruits and vegetables - yes, those again - could give you a significant leg up in the attractiveness department. Scientists have known for a while that the same pigments that give fruits and vegetables their color - carotenoids - can accumulate in your skin and give it color too. What they didn't know was this: How many fruits and vegetables do you have to eat for how long in order for people to notice the difference in your coloring?

Growing cherries is always a roll of the dice for farmers, because if rain falls when the fruits are ripe on the tree, a large portion of them can split and be ruined. You'd think that by late May the main danger would have passed, but J.P. Barbagelata, who is hoping to bring Bings to the Santa Monica market next Wednesday, had the agonizing experience of driving off last Tuesday just as the rain was starting to fall on his farm in Linden, near Stockton. As he drove he heard that a quarter-inch had fallen, and that more was expected.

  Tu Bishvat challah kugel with dried cherries and almonds Total time: 2 hours Our recipes, your kitchen: If you try any of the L.A. Times Test Kitchen recipes from this week's Food section, please share it with us: Click here to upload pictures of the finished dish. Servings: 6 Note: If you like, serve each portion of the kugel with a spoonful of sour cream and a few dried cherries. Instead of using almond milk, you can prepare this kugel with milk or soy milk.

One of the great joys of summer is the appearance of fresh cherries in local markets. While their growing season is relatively short, the quantity of cherries available in season (usually May to August) is usually great. Cherries are grown in 20 or more countries, but the United States is still one of the largest producers. Most tart cherries are of the Montmorency variety, and because they are often too tart to eat as is, they are canned, frozen, dried or used in pie fillings, sauces or juices.

You can still smoke in parts of the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, a place where time travels in reverse, sin is celebrated and inhibition does not exist. You can light one cigarette after another while you gamble away your Social Security check and miss payments on the oxygen tank, and it's nobody's business but your own. I found myself suppressing a cough as I strolled the Marlboro-scented casino floor looking for somebody to talk to. The economy is still on the mat, California gaming revenue dropped in 2008 for the first time in more than a decade, and yet the cars still roll into the lots at Morongo, Pechanga and Agua Caliente, among other gambling halls.

Robert DeFeo, the official cherry blossom watcher at the National Park Service, predicts the blossoms will peak this year between March 21 and March 28. Unfortunately, this is the week before the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival, which includes a parade, concerts, Japanese theater performances and other activities from March 29 to April 12.

Most of the cherry trees circling the Tidal Basin should be bursting with pink and white blossoms in time for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, according to the National Park Service. About 70% of the trees should be in full flower April 4 through 9, though a sudden warming trend might speed up the process, said Rob DeFeo, the park service's chief horticulturist.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The nation's capital is celebrating the gift of more than 3,000 cherry trees from Japan in 1912. Because of mild weather, the trees, which circle the Tidal Basin, bloomed earlier than usual this year and have passed peak. But that's not stopping festivities commemorating the 100-year-old gift. The National Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off March 20 and will last until April 27. The National Park Service will host programs through April 15. Even if the trees aren't in full bloom, a stroll around Tidal Basin - between the Potomac River and Washington Channel - is enjoyable and educational.

Was it a conspiracy that went all the way to the top of ABC? Or was it the case of an exaggerating actress out for revenge? Nicollette Sheridan's wrongful-termination suit against the creator of "Desperate Housewives" and a studio wound toward a conclusion Wednesday as jurors heard closing arguments offering vastly different interpretations of the case. As the tall, blond actress and Marc Cherry, the balding, bespectacled writer who invented the world of Wisteria Lane, looked on from opposite sides of the courtroom, their attorneys debated for hours over what led to the 2008 death of Sheridan's character.

"Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry testified Wednesday that he killed off Wisteria Lane seductress Edie Britt in the fifth season because there were simply no more male characters for her to bed. "We had played out as many romantic complications with each of the women's husbands" as possible, Cherry told a Los Angeles jury in a wrongful-termination suit brought by Nicollette Sheridan, the actress who played Edie. The character had dalliances with the spouses or former spouses of three of the main housewives — played by Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria and Marcia Cross — and the husband of the fourth — played by Felicity Huffman — "would never cheat," Cherry said.

The creator of "Desperate Housewives" testified Monday that his decision to kill off the character Edie Britt was made months before the actress who portrayed her accused him of battery. Marc Cherry told jurors in a wrongful-termination suit brought by actress Nicollette Sheridan that he plotted the promiscuous Wisteria Lane real estate agent's demise to "shake things up" creatively on the ABC show and not as retribution. But, in a daylong turn on the witness stand, Cherry acknowledged that eliminating Edie had the added benefit of ridding the show's budget of Sheridan's $4-million salary and him of what he described as a disruptive and unprofessional presence on the set. "It wasn't the primary reason for my decision, but it was something I was aware of," Cherry said under questioning by an attorney for Sheridan.

It started as normal Hollywood friction - an actress who wanted better lines and a writer annoyed by her suggestions. But the squabble on the "Desperate Housewives" set four years ago took an unusually nasty turn that led Thursday to a windowless downtown courtroom. There actress Nicollette Sheridan told a jury that series creator Marc Cherry slapped her on the head during a rehearsal after she repeatedly questioned him about deleting what she considered to be a particularly funny line for her character.

Cherry blossom fans, plan for early pinkiness. The 100-year-old Yoshino cherry trees that line the Tidal Basin in Washington, D.C., are expected to erupt in fragrant pink blossoms as early as March 22 and should reach their peak between March 24 and 31. It's a bit early, as the average peak bloom period is April 4. The forecast came Thursday from Rob DeFeo, chief horticulturist at the National Park Service, who made the announcement during...

Cherry lovers, beware. One of summer's sweet rewards will all but disappear from the market soon. The storm that drenched the state on Memorial Day also devastated California's cherry crop at the height of harvest. Only about 15% of the cherry crop had been picked by the weekend, and the remaining tree-ripened cherries swelled and cracked after absorbing water from the more than 2 inches of rain that fell, cherry grower Ralph Lucchetti said.

Plums usually don't start until the end of May, but a few growers, mostly of Armenian origin, have started bringing green plums, which are unripe fruits the size of cherries. These are hard and sour, and would not appeal to most Americans, but they're much appreciated in the Mideast as the first fruits of spring and are eaten fresh, sometimes with a pinch of salt. Alan Asdoorian of Island Farms, from Kingsburg, says that his customers want only a certain variety with a distinctive taste and that if he runs out and tries to bring similar-looking immature fruits of standard varieties, like Friar or Simka, they wave their fingers and say " voch" — "no" in Armenian.

Cherry granita Total time: 15 minutes, plus macerating and freezing times Servings: 4 to 6 2 pounds red cherries, preferably Bing 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons orange liqueur, preferably Grand Marnier 1/4 cup cherry liqueur, such as Kirsch 1 1/2 cups water 1 teaspoon almond extract 1. Pit the cherries and place in a large bowl. Toss in the sugar, orange and cherry liqueurs. Toss and set aside for 30 minutes to give the flavors time to marry.

Jani Lane, the lead singer for Warrant, a popular 1980s metal band that often had hits with songs he penned, including "Cherry Pie" and "Heaven," has died. He was 47. Lane was found dead Thursday evening in a Woodland Hills hotel, said Sara Faden, a Los Angeles police officer. The cause of death was not known and an autopsy was scheduled. With his long blond hair and tight leather outfits, Lane embodied the excess of 1980s "hair metal" rock bands. After he joined Warrant in 1984, the band rose on the Sunset Strip circuit alongside kindred spirit Guns N' Roses and eventually signed with Columbia Records.