Heat Wave

Wow! What a summer it has been. Can you say “record breaking heat and humidity”? I think last week tested the mettle of anyone and everyone who claims they prefer the heat of summer over the cold of winter. Our grass turned into hay and if we didn’t have our soaker hoses and sprinkler going in the early evening, we would certainly have lost some landscaping and all of our veggies. 

The zucchini, green beans and peppers are thriving, but I did lose some of my more delicate herbs. The tomatoes that the groundhog spared are just starting to ripen and the sunflowers are about halfway to their eventual ten foot height. If you are not into tending a home garden – no worries! Just visit any of the local farmer’s markets and indulge in all of the beautiful local fruits and vegetables available to us. (Phoenixville and Collegeville on Saturday mornings, Skippack on Sunday mornings.)

Earlier this month, I went cherry picking. It was a humid and drizzly morning and the trees were a bit picked over, but it was still fun searching for perfectly ripe sweet and sour cherries. I picked about twenty pounds of fruit. Then the real fun began – pitting! I quickly froze the cherries in quart-sized Ziploc bags with the intention that the sour cherries would make it into tarts/pies and the sweet cherries would be made into gelato. I also made a few jars of brandied cherries for the fall – maybe some of these boozy cherries will make it into chocolate confections for the holidays, but most will definitely be reserved for colder weather cocktails. 

Stay cool and happy eating!