Cherries!

I happen to love cherry pie (yes I know I love almost all pie but cherry is definitely in my top 5!) and one of my goals this summer was to find and freeze enough pie cherries for some pies this fall/winter. Mostly to share with my father in law since David doesn't even like them. Crazy I know. Over the weekend I noticed an ad on Craigslist advertising U-Pick pie cherries for $2 per plastic grocery bag. Sounded like a deal to me so I emailed the lady and arranged a time to go and pick. In 45 minutes the kids and I managed to pick ten pounds of cherries and Ethan managed to take off his socks and shoes. We all got super sticky and dirty but the picking was pretty easy and Ethan turned out to be a pretty good cherry picker. Grace was much more interested in picking dandelions, but at least she kept her shoes on.

After we got home and had lunch and Ethan went down for his nap I spent all afternoon pitting 10lbs of cherries. Turns out 10lbs of cherries is a LOT of cherries to pit! I baked two pies and have enough cherries in the freezer for a couple more. (Note to my father in law: I'll be bringing some cherry pie for the rodeo!) I gave one pie away to our neighbors and the kids and I are working on the other one. We're halfway through it and I anticipate that it will nothing but crumbs by Friday. Turns out my kids inherited my pie loving gene!

I shared my recipe for Almost Perfect Pastry on the Food Love blog (check it out, I've scored some super good recipes from this group of ladies!). Here's my cherry pie recipe (a la Allrecipes.com):

Cherry Pie

2lbs of sour cherries, pitted
1 1/8 cup sugar
3 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp almond extract

In a sauce pan combine cherries, sugar, and cornstarch and let sit for 10 minutes. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower heat and simmer for five minutes or until juices thicken and become translucent. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract and butter. Mix thoroughly and put in a pie shell. Cover with crust and cut slits. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-55 minutes.