The boxers are all done. Ryan's three were put in the mail on Monday and hopefully he'll have them by tomorrow. I was able to make them longer as requested.
Dan is done with his busiest month and we're officially on vacation now. He got some work done in the yard today, and I spent some time with Cameron and Keaton this afternoon. Tomorrow Ann and I are going out to lunch together and Papa Dan will be in charge of the boys. We'll have to see if yard work or fun is on the agenda for them. :-)
While I was watching the boys this afternoon, the subject of cherries came up, so I drove them over to our house to check out our cherry trees. Looks like we'll have a bumper crop of Bings in a few weeks. The boys love to pit them, so Ann and I have decided to take advantage of their work and dry some this year in addition to freezing. A friend of hers has a dehydrator she's never used, so we're going to appropritate, er um, borrow it from her.
Anyway, after returning the boys to their home and to Ann, I came home and decided that with the new crop just around the corner, I'd better be using up more of the cherries in our freezer, so I made Cherry Crisp using a recipe from Cooking Light from two years ago. I've made it quite a few times now, and it's delicious. I've made it with freshly pitted cherries and frozen ones, and the recipe works fine with both. I have lessened the cornstarch to three tablespoons, and probably use closer to 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract. If you use frozen cherries, be sure to thaw them or increase the baking time to about an hour.
I have some projects in mind that I hope to begin soon. I did finally swap out my winter clothes and shoes for summer ones yesterday. As I was shuffling between closets, I realized it's only three months until October, when I'll need to do it all over again! What crazy weather.
We have no big plans for the Fourth of July weekend. Our church is having a picnic Sunday afternoon in the park and that should be fun. Other than that, I think we'll just enjoy some quiet time at home. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Please, hold a piece of that Cherry Crisp for me. I'll bring the coffee.
ReplyDeleteI'm still holding out for butt shots with the boxers! LOL
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend!
Great job on the boxers! On to the next thing, right?
ReplyDeleteI've flirted with drying fruit for years. My dryer was a gift from my mother. I've never dried cherries, though, and this year my little tree won't bear enough to bother. (You really need more than three cherries to be successful. I'll be interested to know how you process the cherries. Some people use preservatives but I just dry the fruit and then toss it in the freezer.
Happy Fourth of July to all!
Hallie's case for the common use of "Twenty-Ten":
ReplyDelete- Less syllables.
- We don't say, "Back in nineteen hundred and ten" and so we should maintain the historical trend.
- Twenty is young and hip. Two thousand is old and boring.
Kathy, I'm certain more than three cherries would be needed! But your three cherries are awfully cute...and sincere. :-) Ann and I are just going to experiment. Hopefully our purloined dehydrater will come with instructions or we'll check the internet and see what we think.
ReplyDeleteHallie, your common sense makes sense. Guess I just need to get used to the "twenties" although one would think after ten years I would be; however, those aughts defy the rest of the century and then we have to start again. Thanks for your input! :-)
Nothings going on over at my place, so I came over here to see what's happening.
ReplyDeleteI belong to an organization -- not saying which one -- that made an official declaration -- twenty-ten is correct. (Leave it to that organization to make a determination on correctness.)
And can you believe it's 2010. I had this discussion with a nephew recently. If it happened in the 2000s, it happened yesterday. The 1990s were yesterday. Hallie graduated in 2000, so it's the year of her 10th class reunion. Mason was born in 2000 and turns 10 in November. Something about these things is just wrong!
Chris, have you experimented with the cherries yet? I remember a year when my mother candied cherries for her holiday fruitcake. Yes, my mother was a fruitcake fan.
Kathy (expanding blogging through comments)
Well, Kathy, as you can see, not much going on here, either. I'll probably post again tomorrow. How wonderful of your group to officially declare it's Twenty-ten!!! (I'm giggling as I write!)
ReplyDeleteThe cherries aren't ripe yet, so we haven't tried drying. Another week at the earliest. We've gone back to shoes and socks up here.
Fruitcake--another reason your mom and I were close. :-)
Well, Kathy, as you can see, not much going on here, either. I'll probably post again tomorrow. How wonderful of your group to officially declare it's Twenty-ten!!! (I'm giggling as I write!)
ReplyDeleteThe cherries aren't ripe yet, so we haven't tried drying. Another week at the earliest. We've gone back to shoes and socks up here.
Fruitcake--another reason your mom and I were close. :-)
Do you like fruitcake, Chris? It carries such negative connotations these days that I'm almost afraid to say the word.
ReplyDeleteAlas! The birds have already eaten the three little cherries. At least I know that any crop is going to have to have protection. I usually just buy netting at Jo-Ann.