Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries

I'm not going to lie - it's been a hectic spring, and is shaping up to be a crazy summer. But I am taking a page from the song Life's Just a Bowl of Cherries and reminding myself to "live and laugh at it all."

Because it's actually the best time of year at the local farmers markets. Late season rhubarb next to strawberries; early cherries a sign of other stone fruits to come. All crying out to be tucked inside one signature dish....pie.

Unfortunately, I am not much of a baker. But with the Fourth of July around the corner, a new pocket pie gadget and pre-made crust in my freezer, I may just break out of my comfort zone.

Until then, my farmers market buys look fantastic in the stoneware Farmers Market Basket from Anthropologie!

Life is just a bowl of cherries

So live and laugh,

Laugh and love

Live and laugh at it all!

Cherries revisited: Stone Fruit Patchwork Bake

A few weeks ago, I bought what looked like a luscious pint of cherries at the farmers market. Alas, they were kind of squishy and past their peak. Undaunted, I pitted them (using a drinking straw, and wearing an old t-shirt!) and froze them for a rainy day. Well, it rained on Sunday, and so I finally pulled out the cherries just in time to make Mark Bittman's recipe for a stone fruit patchwork bake. Since the whole point of this recipe is to form a non-perfect crust, it was my kind of dessert. In addition to using frozen fresh cherries, I also: used frozen (not fresh) peaches; subbed 50-50 white-whole wheat flour; decreased the sugar in the filling to 1/4 cup; and added cinnamon and nutmeg (with a dusting of extra cinnamon on top). Despite the less-than-food-magazine-worthy appearance, it was yum. And perfect for a cool, wet summer day.

A Study in Green and Red

I was upstate for the 4th of July and hit the local farmers market. For a smaller market in a small town, there really was a lot of variety. I counted at least 10 tents lining the library parking lot, selling everything from granola to gladiolas, scones to stone fruit. Compared to Union Square Greenmarket, it was quite nice and peaceful, except for the crowds at opening time. All I can say is good luck jockeying for space in front of the organic lettuce lady's table. Despite the selection, everything I ended up with was green or red: red romaine (green and red!), sugar snap peas, zucchini, totsoi (which looks more like bok choy than any of the images on totsoi I've seen online), grape tomatoes and cherries.

I actually used most of the stuff raw (in salads). I still have to cook the totsoi (which I purchased solely because I had never seen it before). And the cherries? A sad tale.

They looked so good, but upon closer inspection at home, they were a tad over ripe, and several had "skin splitting issues." Frankly, they did not taste that great. Undaunted, I decided to pit them for use in some to be determine recipe. I got as far as removing the pits (with a drinking straw - a genius idea I picked up online, but still slightly messy. Be careful where the other end of that straw is pointing!) before I ran out of steam and ideas. So the fresh pitted cherries are now hibernating in my parents' freezer, waiting for their moment. Now to find a cherry recipe...