Cherry Picking.

Our neighbors, who live on the other side of the woods from us have three beautiful cherry trees in their yard. Every year they invite us to come and pick as many as we want before the birds eat them all or the rain knocks them out of the trees. They usually pick a few for themselves, but otherwise they are just wasted. The tree are completely loaded with yummy tart cherries, and they don't spray it or anything so they are totally organic.

Sage jumped and jumped, but just couldn't reached them.:)

So they climbed up into the trees.

Kenan and i picked 20lbs the first day, and then he went back and picked another 20lbs the next day. The trees didn't even look like they had been touched. The kids contribed about 40 cherries total to the bucket, and came home with full bellies and covered in sticky cherry juice.

Kenan and i spend the next couple evenings pitting and freezing cherries. i considered making jelly, but the cherries have a yellow flesh and don't keep their pretty red color. i think the jelly would probably end up a weird orange brown color, and not be all that appetizing. i also just love having the cherries in the freezer to use when ever i need them.
i like to freeze them separated on cookie sheets, and then transfer them to freezer bags once they are frozen. The kids love eating frozen fruit in the summer and they'll make great muffins and other goodies. i saved and froze all the juice too, and am going to make cherry sorbet with it. i made a cherry crisp last night, and am thinking about making some cherry muffins today. Do any have any favorite cherry recipes to share?

Blueberry season is just begining as well, and soon my freezer will be packed tight with frozen blueberries and then raspberries, blackberries and peaches. i feel incredibly blessed to live in a place where we have so much access to real foods.