Cherries!

Cherries have to be my favorite summer fruit, and I’m so thankful to live where cherry season lasts for over a month as the different varieties come and go. Friends offered u-pick in their organic orchard so my daughter-in-law, granddaughter, and I spent a couple of hours there a few days ago.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been cherry picking with a one-year-old! She spent some time playing with other children under the trees, but then she discovered what Mommy and Gramma were up to and was determined to get involved. The last while I picked low-hanging branches with her ensconced on my hip to keep her contented and off the ladder.

Where other years I often processed 80 pounds or more of cherries, this year will likely be much less. (Back when I had a job, my boss gave me a lot of cherries.) That evening, Jim and I took turns pitting the fruit.

I spread it out on cookie sheets and popped them in the freezer. The next day I put them in gallon-sized ziplocs and returned them to the freezer. What do I use frozen cherries for?

Mostly smoothies. A typical smoothie for me will have 1/4 cup pumpkin (I’ll be freezing that in October), a cup or so of cherries, 1/3 cup of plain yogurt, a teaspoon of cocoa, a small handful of spinach leaves, and enough whole milk to achieve the desired consistency.

If you freeze cherries, what do you do with them? Or if you haven’t ever done so, what do you think you’d like to try?