Everyone who knows me, or who has been reading my posts here on AnnArbor.com since they began this past summer, knows that I have a passion for cherries. Not the sweet ones, so much, although I do love them. Rather, my obsession is with the tart cherries which come to the Farmers Market around July 4.

Whether the traditional Montmorency or the newer (to our area) Balatons, which are dark but with clear juice and not quite as sour as the Montmorencies, it doesn't matter - I buy both in 10 pound boxes and spend entire summer afternoons pitting them. Others may find me a bore or think I'm engaging in a pointless activity; but give me sunshine, tunes, my late grandmother's cherry pitters, and bowls full of cherries … I'm a happy, happy girl.

But once one has pitted all these cherries, what to do with them? Pies, of course, and jam; sauce for chicken or for pork. And then there is the freezer, which permits me to use my summer bounty throughout the year. And that's just what I did for the first night of Passover, when I made a Cherry-Blueberry Almond Macaroon Crisp.

If you didn't pit hundreds (or thousands?) of cherries beforehand, don't worry - you can use purchased cherries and blueberries. And you don't need to make macaroons - either the coconut variety or the trend-du-jour meringue-y Parisian ones - for this. In fact, the not-so-cheap but kinda junky canned ones available in the Passover section at grocery stores are perfect. (Despite their not being sophisticated, I can eat those little babies by the can, the way others devour popcorn. They are addictive - but only the almond variety, as the Rocky Road or the Coconut or any of the other flavors tend to be very dry. And yes, I do know that I should not be a connoisseur of something like this that has no redeeming nutritional value! Eating these is like eating M&Ms instead of Green & Black's chocolates … there's a place for everyone at Mary's table.)

Anyway, because leavened products (chametz [HAHM-etts]) are not the only foods forbidden at Passover, there are a few accommodations I make to this recipe in keeping with the spirit of the holiday despite not adhering to the letter of the law. A prohibition against corn - which is considered to be kitniyot [kit-NEEyote], “little things,” reminiscent of the verboten chametz and thus not eaten by the Ashkenazim of European heritage - dictates that I use potato starch to thicken the fruit juices. And I don't use flour, my usual base for the crisp topping, instead just simply combining crumbled macaroons with almonds and butter. So this is a ridiculously easy recipe to make, especially if you're in the midst of preparing a large meal or if you simply need a fast dessert for a potluck or for company.

It's worth pitting and freezing cherries during the summer to use in later months; and it's worth stocking up on a few cans of macaroons to use in making fruit crisps throughout the summer. This was a sublime ending to our holiday meal ….

Cherry-Blueberry Almond Macaroon Crisp

3 cups tart cherries (Balaton or Montmorency)
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed
1/4 cup potato starch
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
8 Manischewitz almond macaroons
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-inch glass pie pan.

In a large bowl, combine cherries, blueberries, potato starch, sugar and extract; place into prepared pie pan. Crumble the macaroons into a medium bowl and stir in the almonds; carefully cover the fruit with this mixture. Drizzle the butter over the top, and bake for 35 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is lightly browned.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Mary Bilyeu has won or placed in more than 60 cooking contests and writes about her adventures as she tries to win prizes, feeds hungry teenagers and other loved ones and generally just has fun in the kitchen. The phrase "You Should Only Be Happy" (written in Hebrew on the stone pictured next to the blog's title) comes from Deuteronomy 16:15 and is a wish for all her readers as they cook along with her ... may you always be happy here! You can contact Mary at yentamary@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter (twitter.com/foodfloozie). And look for her new food blog: foodfloozie.blogspot.com.