Up North

Spring, at last, is making its presence felt in the Republic. The days are noticeably longer and warmer, the snow has almost completely melted, and ice is gradually yielding to open water. Patches of grass are even turning green! There doubtless remain a few snowy days ahead, and we can never forget the risk of frost, but the weather has turned. The long, cold winter of 2014 is finally relenting. Spring is here. Yesterday was mild and gloriously sunny. With so much open water, I wanted to get out on the lake for a short paddle in a canoe. It's a great way to start the day, outside in the fresh, cool air under a gently warming sun, with the glassy water slipping past the canoe's hull. I swung by our offices to enlist some company for my paddle. Only one volunteered: Andrew, our digital marketing guy, is always up for an outing on the water. With the canoes loaded, we headed down to the water on Sleeping Bear Bay. The wind had changed overnight and jammed the bay with small ice bergs.

This Savory Cherry Strudel recipe was developed by one of Cherry Republic's own, Gene Kovacs and his partner Craig (the true chef, by Gene's own admission!).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 9 X 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray. In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom and cinnamon.

Thank you to everyone who shared their love stories with us. We had so many wonderful responses that it was impossible to narrow the list down to just 2 winners. Instead, we selected 3 winners and 4 runners-up, all of whom will receive a Cherry Valentine's prize.

This is a great wing recipe based on what I am told is the original recipe from Buffalo. We have given it our own local twist by using KaBob’s Kick’en Cherry Hot Sauce. This is a quick and easy recipe with mild to medium heat. You can spice it up to meet individual tastes.