Picking Sour Cherries
Sour cherries are in season here in NE Ohio at the moment. My parents have a small cherry tree on their property that produces more than they need, so they let us pick. Mr Chiots picked about a gallon of cherries on Saturday when we were over for a visit.
My sister & brother-in-law are renting a small plot of land for their garden and it has a big sour and a big sweet cherry tree. We may pick some of those later this week if they don’t need them all.
I love sour cherries. They make delicious pies, cobblers and are fantastic with ham. I think my favorite way to enjoy them is in cherry almond scones. Looks like we’ll have a good amount of cherries tucked away in the freezer for delicious winter scones and cobblers.
Sweet or sour, what’s your favorite kind of cherry?
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Do You See What I See?
This past weekend we had some storms roll through our area. I decided it would be wise to tie up the tomato plants to make sure none of them would blow over with the high winds. While tying them up I noticed that a few of them had tiny blooms forming!
I don’t know about you, but the first tomato blossom is really exciting around here. So far the plants I’ve noticed blooms on are: Constoluto Genovese, Principe Borghese, Pompeii, and Zapotec Pleated.
Any tomatoes blooming in your garden?
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I See Red in My Harvest Basket
The strawberries are in full swing here at Chiot’s Run. We’ve been picking them every day, getting a quart or two each time. Strawberries are one of those things that signify the beginning of summer here in NE Ohio. You know when the local strawberries are ripe summer is finally here.
I’m hoping to get a strawberry pie made next week. I may freeze a few later in the season to enjoy in muffins this winter. I think I’m one of the few people that doesn’t make strawberry jam. I prefer elderberry, blackberry or black raspberry.
Our favorite way to enjoy homegrown strawberries is in strawberry shortcake. Not those spongy sweet discs you buy at the store, we make lightly sweetened biscuits flecked with crystallized ginger for our shortcakes (recipe in comment section below). We crumble some shortcake in a bowl and top it with macerated strawberries (you know cut, sprinkled with sugar and chilled for an hour or so to produce the syrupy sweetness). Then we pour some raw milk on top and dig in. Such a wonderful meal on a hot day!
What’s your favorite way to eat strawberries?
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Time to Stock the Herb Pantry
It’s that time of the year to start think about harvesting and drying herbs for your spice rack. If you’re trying to eat healthier adding herbs and spices to your food is a great way to do this. Many herbs and spices contain more antioxidants than fruits and vegetables.
Last year I waiting until late in the fall to harvest my herbs, but it’s really something that you should be doing all summer long. Herbs are at their peak of flavor and nutrition right before they bloom. This past week I noticed that my oregano patch was perfect for harvest. This past winter I ran out of oregano because I didn’t harvest and dry quite enough. Since oregano is one of my favorite herbs to use in the kitchen, I’ll harvest a few times to make sure this doesn’t happen again.
When I harvest herbs I usually cut sprigs that are about 6-10 inches long and I tie them into bundles. I hang these bundles in our warm attic for a week or two until they’re dry, then I store the herbs in glass jars.
Oregano is like a wonderherb. It’s full of powerful antioxidants and all kinds of goodness. I like to drink oregano tea or add lots of it to tomato soup when I’m feeling a cold coming on, it often clears it right up. I won’t repeat all the benefits here, read this or this for more info.
Do you dry homegrown herbs for your pantry?
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The First Ripe Strawberry
I’ve been watching the strawberry patch like a hawk, waiting for that first glimpse of red. We’ve had a lot of blooms this year and lots of tiny green fruit setting on. Strawberries are one of my favorite things to have in the garden. They’re so easy I don’t know why more people don’t grow them. The flavor is so much better than the ones in the grocery store and you can grow them organically without chemicals and pesticides. I’d never buy conventional strawberries at the store because they’re one of the worst offenders when it comes to chemical pollution (and they’re about to get worse, read this).
Last week I noticed the first slight blush on one of the berries when I was out weeding. If you have your own strawberry patch you know exactly how excited I was. I started thinking about strawberry shortcake, my favorite way to eat strawberries.
Yesterday when I was out picking lettuce for our lunch salad, something red caught my eye. It was the first deliciously ripe red strawberry. Mr Chiots and I split it, we each enjoyed half a strawberry on our salad. They pair perfectly with balsamic vinegar! I’ll be eagerly watching the patch waiting for enough berries to make the first strawberry shortcake of the season.
I’m considering adding a patch of ever-bearing strawberries to our garden. That way we can harvest strawberries all season long, instead of just having a flush of berries in the spring. I’ve heard that Tri-Star is a great variety so I may try some of them.
Do you grow your own strawberries? What’s your favorite way to enjoy them?
