For me, the hardest part of going away is not the planning (I guess I’m not really a planner), nor is it the packing (just take all of your clothes and stuff them in a suitcase). It is using up the contents of the fridge for that final week at home, that works me up. Because, yes, in the past I have left that solitary carton of milk on the shelf chilling, and let me tell you, after weeks of sitting alone in the refrigerator, that milk punished my olfactory senses heartily.

Going to the market and buying just a smattering of ingredients has never been one of my strong points. But sometimes, in using up what I already have, it is necessary to actually do a wee bit of grocery shopping, as counterintuitive as it may seem. So cruising up and down the grocery aisles, I must remind myself that my husband and I cannot consume an entire five pound watermelon in the two and a half days we are still at home, even if it is on sale.

This impending trip to California looming, and left with one recipe for galette dough, a small container of crème fraiche, and not much else, I knew a trip to the market was calling to me. So I put on my blinders, and walked out of the apartment. What I returned with was a small sack of cherries, just enough to bake with, and more than a few to chomp on unadorned while the baking was being completed.

What I decided to make was not a cherry galette, but neatly and sweetly folded over, cherries and cream (or crème as it were) pockets. Pitting all of the cherries was the most time-consuming, and finger-staining prospect about making these pockets. The rest was a snap.

Simply roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut small-ish circles out with a biscuit cutter. Then spread half of the dough with a smooth covering of crème fraiche before topping with the cherries, which have been squeezed with lemon juice, and sweetened with a bit of sugar. Fold over, and crimp the edges. Brush with an egg, if you happen to have one lying around that also needs to be used. I did. Sprinkle with a bit more sugar. It will carmelize lightly through the baking process, then bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes.

These pockets were lovely. The crème melts into the cherries, the dough turns puffy and golden, and who doesn’t love a hand-held dessert? Truly, they need no excuse, even if they were a very delicious way to clean out the fridge.