Sour Cherries

Both of our cherry trees produced a lot of cherries this year, with the Northstar in mid June and the Evans Bali in late June/early July. We picked, pitted and froze cherries numerous time.

Tons of green cherries developing 

Pitting the cherries is time-consuming, but the pitter does work

Sour cherries are a nice addition with other fruit, such as in this peach and cherry crisp.

We've enjoyed this sour cherry crisp recipe in a 9X9" pan or deep pie plate.

For a small batch of cherry crisp in the smoker, in a 6" skillet:

• 8 oz frozen sour cherries
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp corn starch

Combine these in the 6" skillet, top with the blended crisp:

• 3 Tbsp rolled oats
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp butter
• pinch salt

Smoke, covered with foil at 350 for 30 min, then remove foil and smoke another 20 min or so until the top is browned.

Our friend Dawn makes a great cherry cobbler in a 9X13" pan from a Thomas Keller recipe. I tried making a smaller batch in an 8" skillet reducing this recipe to 1/3, but it turned out too bready. Back to the drawing board on this one. 

Greek Grill

A great summer dinner.

• 2-3 large lemons
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp dried
• kosher salt, black pepper, Cavender's Greek Seasoning
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 2-3 lbs boneless chicken, cut into 1.5" cubes
• 1 c plain yogurt
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 c finely chopped cucumber (peeled and seeded)
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 med red bell pepper, cut in 1" squares
• 1 med yellow bell pepper, cut in 1" squares
• Pita bread
• Crumbled feta

Grate the lemon peel to yield 2 tsp zest and juice the lemons to yield 1/4 c juice. Add garlic, thyme, salt, pepper and Cavender's. Whisk in 1/4 c olive oil. Use this to marinate chicken 2-6 hours in fridge, bring to room temperature 30 min before grilling. Skewer the chicken, alternating with peppers (if using wooden skewers soak them first). Brush lightly with olive oil and grill on all sides, about 8 min. Place pitas on grill to toast slightly, about 2 min per side.

To make the cucumber sauce, combine yogurt, cucumber, mint, cumin and 1/2 tsp kosher salt. We like to add minced garlic, as well. Serve with crumbled feta on the side.

Food on Boards

We entertain family and friends pretty frequently, and I've been searching for new ideas beyond our usuals. I stumbled into a trend of serving more than just charcuterie on boards and was immediately intrigued. Of course, many of the pictures are stunning and make you want to try it.

Round serving boards are expensive, so I opted for this 24" diameter ottoman tray at World Market for $45 and gave it two coats of polyacrylic to make sure it's food safe. I also bought two rectangular boards off FB Marketplace (because once I started looking I couldn't help myself). I got a couple of cookbooks from the library and bought a couple.

Chocolate fondue

First up,, I made chocolate fondue (doubling this recipe) with cocoa krispie bars, pound cake from Costco, fruit,, potato chips, marshmallows and shortbread cookies.

Next came the taco board with two kinds of refried beans, rice, corn, etc.

Digging into the taco board

Then came the cobb salad board.

No doubt more to come.