sprinklefingers

last year at this time i was completely, completely obsessed with strawberries. this year though, every local strawberry i’ve had kind of tastes like it was grown on a wet sponge in a dark room. and, to tell you the truth, most local berries were. so much rain (means the ground was all spongy) and a complete lack of sun (a dark room) produced berries that have a funny texture and no true flavor at all. so sad. especially for a person who loves her berries.

what’s a girl to do?

turn to cherries!
i heard a rumor that this year’s cherries are a bit redder and a bit sweeter than years previous because of our cold spring. the cherries stayed on the trees a bit longer than usual to ripen and that extra time (rumor has it) produced a darker, sweeter cherry. yes, please!

there are many ways i like to enjoy cherries: in a bowl. as a compote. as a preserve. as a jam. in ice cream. with duck. in a coffeecake. as a liqueur. in a pie!

this last one, the pie, is perhaps my favorite way to enjoy cherries. if the pie is scented with vanilla and has hints of almond and coconut, even better. a long time ago i read a recipe by the great ken haedrich for cherry pie including all of the above and i thought, we two must be cherry pie soulmates! everything i’d put in a cherry pie, he puts in a cherry pie! genius! and delicious.

two days ago i pitted twenty pounds of oregon ‘stella’ cherries. by hand. even with a bit of help it still took three of us nearly two and a half hours to do the job. and with those pitted cherries? i made a delicious cherry compote. we’ll use it at work as a pie filling, for yogurt & granola parfaits and maybe even in a crumble. but the truth is, i keep thinking i’ll take some home to use as an addition to a cheese plate. this cherry business is delicious.

while i don’t expect you to pit twenty pounds of cherries, i do think you can handle three pounds. right?

now, i’ll be the first to admit that pitting cherries is messy business - on this last cherry adventure i actually shot cherry juice onto a wall about 5 feet over my own head. to keep the juice spray to a minimum, i suggest you pit the cherries with your hands* inside a gallon-sized plastic bag. simply stick your hands and the cherry in the bag and pit away! and while we’re on the subject, you so totally do not need a cherry pitter contraption. you have hands! use them! grasp the cherry, tear it in two, pull out the pit - and done!

cherry compote
makes 32 oz

you need:

• 3 lbs sweet cherries (i suggest bing or stella!)
• 1.5 oz sugar
• 2 oz water
• 7 oz sugar (yes, sugar is listed twice!)
• 2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 vanilla bean, split open/seeds scraped
• 1/4 t best quality almond extract

make the compote:

1. place the pitted cherries in a ceramic bowl. sprinkle the 1.5 oz sugar over top, stir, cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. the next morning, place the cherries and their juices in a shallow pot or - better yet - a preserving pan. add the water and bring to a boil.
3. to the boiling cherry/water mixture, add the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla bean pod and seeds. stir and let the mixture return to a boil.
4. set a timer for 20 minutes.
5. allow the mixture to continue to boil. using a wooden spoon, press down on the cherries to break them apart and further extract their juices.
6. after 20 minutes, assess the situation - has your compote thickened? has the juice reduced - is it thicker and slightly syrupy? yes? then your compote is nearly finished!
7. remove the pot from the heat and stir a few times to cool it down. add the almond extract and stir again.
8. transfer the compote to a glass jar - leaving the vanilla bean pod inside. refrigerate and use within 3 weeks.
9. once your compote is finished, fish out the vanilla bean and rinse it well. set it aside to dry and once dry, add it to your sugar bowl! delicious!

yum! cherries!

*yes, your hands will become stained with cherry juice. you could wear gloves, or you could look pretty badass with cherry-juice stained hands for a few days. i vote for badass.