Sour Cherry Picking in Philly

My dear friend Tracey belongs to one of Philly’s lovely community gardens. I count on her for mint and other lovely things from her plot, but best of all are the sour cherries from the community tree. Not only is Tracey delightful company with access to sour cherries, but it turns out she’s a ringer when it comes to cherry picking, you see, Tracey is a gifted tree climber. I spent a few hot mornings in July picking cherries, telling stories and getting to know her recently-located-to-Philly mother, and brand new daughter. I picked, pitted and froze about 15 quarts of cherries, so I assure you there will be lots of sour cherry recipes headed your way in the next few months, so fill your freezer now! And sign up for a community garden plot for 2015. I used the ladder. Here’s Tracey in the tree. I can tell she’s thinking about sour cherry pie. … Continue reading

Dying for Summer Apple or Pear and Cherry Almond Crisp

When you grow up in sour cherry country, you develop a very expensive problem, and this Dying for Summer Apple or Pear and Cherry Almond Crisp is a great solution. Your problem? You need sour cherries. Too bad they’re really difficult to get outside of cherry country. And outside of cherry season. And definitely really expensive when outside of season and county. In college I used to make sure that I horded some cherries in July and ferried them home with me on the plane. Then travel changed and frozen cherries in their own juice became considered a dangerous hazard, cue eye roll. But despite the change in airline regulations, I still had a strong need for cherries. To be sure, there are some fancy companies that will ship frozen cherries anytime of the year for a small fortune, and now that I have a friend with access to sour cherries here in Philly, some of my problem has been solved by freezing them in July. But just in case, I have come up with some workarounds for myself when cherry fever hits and I’m without sour cherries. This Dying for Summer Apple or Pear and Cherry Almond Crisp is one … Continue reading