Cherry cobbler

Iowa got hit by a late frost after an unusually warm spring this year. So my favorite U-Pick farm didn't have any cherries for sale this summer. ("The blossoms just fell off the trees," the farmer told me.)

I was bummed that I wouldn't be able to pick pie cherries this year.  But a few weeks ago, I found frozen tart cherries on sale at my local Fareway grocery store.  I stocked up and bought several bags.  Then I came home and made cherry cobbler.

I decided to use my favorite rhubarb crisp recipe, substituting with cherries instead.  It turned out pretty good for my first-ever attempt -- although my photos don't really show it off well.

I was trying to re-create the famous spoon and cherry outdoor sculpture in Minneapolis :)

Someday, I hope to plant a couple cherry trees on my sister's acreage, since it seems like the season is so short.  Then I won't have to "fight" the other cherry lovers at the U-Pick farm. Those cherries always go fast!  Are you a cherry fan?  Do you have a favorite cherry recipe?  I'm always looking for more ideas.

Traverse City eats

I enjoyed one night free of meetings on my recent trip to Traverse City, Michigan. When I learned that Traverse City is one of the foodie havens of the Midwest, I decided to search for the best treats that Michigan has to offer.

I got an early introduction to Michigan's bounty in the "swag bag" I received at the meeting.  How cool is the bottle of honey from Michigan State University! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take it home with me, because I couldn't carry liquids in my carry-on bag.  So I settled for taking this picture so I could remember it.

My first stop was the famous Grand Traverse Pie Company.  These restaurants are all over Michigan, but this is the original.

I ordered a slice of blueberry-cherry crumble pie to go (sorry for the lousy photo under the hotel room lighting) and a sugar cookie with the most amazing icing!

 I also didn't want to leave Michigan without some cherries. I stopped at Cherry Republic in downtown Traverse City and bought a few bags of dried cherries, including a bag of white chocolate covered cherries. This bag didn't last long when I brought it home for my husband! (Thankfully, cherries aren't a liquid and I can pack them in my carry-on. LOL!)

I also bought a bottle of cherry root beer for the road.  Don't you love the label?

As if I didn't get enough sweets, I couldn't resist stopping at this ice cream shop on Traverse Bay for a scoop of cherry-chocolate ice cream.  It was easily the best treat I found in Traverse City.  And I loved the lakeside view!

Oh, and one more treat for the road.  I heard good things about Pop-Kie's Chicago-style popcorn, so I picked up a bag of dill pickle flavor.  Sounds strange, but I loved it!

As you can see, I packed a lot of food-related sightseeing in just a short trip!  But it was all the more memorable for it.

Iowa recipes: Cherry pie

About a month ago (Yikes! Where has the summer gone?), I visited Berry Patch Farm in Nevada, Iowa, first thing in the morning to pick pie cherries.  I wasn't sure if there would be many left.  Cherry season is short on their farm.  Usually, the cherries are gone in a little over a week's time.  I didn't have time to visit their farm until the weekend, which was about five days after their U-Pick cherry season opened.  And it turned out to be slim pickings.  I had to pick cherries from my tip-toes, since another woman was "hogging" the one ladder in the orchard, and I didn't want to be rude and bother her.  After a lot of reaching and stretching, I finally came home with enough cherries to make a pie.

Aren't these cherries beauties?

On my way home from the farm, I stopped at the Cook's Emporium in Ames (my favorite kitchen supply shop in central Iowa) and found a cherry pitter.  Last year, I pitted cherries with the tip of a knife, and it took forever!  I'm so glad I bought this little pitter for about $15.  It cut like 20 minutes off the cherry prep time!

Place the cherry like so...

And out goes the pit!  Easy!

The cherry pie turned out wonderful!  By far my favorite pie, and by far worth the effort of picking cherries on my tiptoes in the heat.  I'm still not great at making my pies "pretty," but they sure taste good!

A couple days after I baked this pie, Berry Patch Farm put a recipe on their Facebook page for freezer cherry pie filling.  I'm totally going to try this next year.  Would love to have all the ingredients ready to make sour-cherry pie for the holidays.

Here's the recipe, as it appears on their Facebook page:

Pie filling recipe: 3 cups cherries,1 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, dash of almond flavoring, mix & put in plastic freezer bag. Handy for pies later !  (Just mix the ingredients in the bag and pop in freezer.  No need to pre-cook.)