This week . . .

It's been another busy week around the homestead.

My husband repaired one of the deck chairs, and now I'm putting primer on it. I'll put a couple of coats of white paint on it over the weekend. Previously, these chairs and matching bench were painted in an oil-based paint. If you are going to use a water-based paint over an oil-based one, you need to give the previous finish a good sanding. I failed to sand the other white chair and bench thoroughly enough last summer, and now have some areas of peeling. I'll need to sand down those spots and repaint. Lesson learned.

I filled a large garden pot for the entry patio, with some summer annuals, clearance perennials and a beautiful fountain grass, all in autumn tones. Yep! I'm thinking autumn already. I have this pesky problem of thinking ahead to the next season constantly. My pot will be beautifully rich in color when the leaves on the birch overhead turn golden.

I've started more basil, cilantro, dill and beets in the garden, to extend the harvest of those four. My garden is doing splendidly, for the most part. The plants are loving this heat. I have about 5 tiny pumpkins, so far, and about a dozen small tomatoes, with the promise of many more. My chard and kale are huge! And lettuce continues to provide us with daily salads.

You already know that I brandied some cherries earlier this week. I've also been dehydrating cherries to use this winter in baked goods and granola. I buy about 2 pounds of dried cherries during winter and spring. Drying some now will save me the expense of buying dried cherries at a premium, later. And today, I am hoping to make some cherry jam. This has been on my must-try list for several years -- think Bonne Maman Cherry Preserves. Yum, I can practically taste it already!

My sourdough starter has been very active this month. I ran out of yeast for homemade bread, so I fired up the starter. I've been using it for the family's bread and pizza crusts. My series of posts from last summer, on making sourdough starter has gotten some interest in the last week. Just an FYI, for anyone curious about making their own sourdough starter, summer is the best time of year to get one started. Most house temps are ideal for getting the activity going.

My daughters made a batch of graham crackers one day. This is a summer ritual for them. A couple of times per summer, they make homemade graham crackers, following the recipe I tore off the side of the brown sugar box, 23 years ago, or so.

But bigger news about my girls -- my two daughters got jobs!! Yay! Really, it's been a lot of hard work applying, interviews, making the rounds of all the places where they've dropped resumes, and finally, almost a month into summer, they've landed jobs on campus at their university. This is their first real paid employment. They'll be able to earn enough this summer to help with tuition costs next year, and have pocket money throughout the school year. We celebrated with a trip to the fabric/craft store and lunch out. My favorite lunch place is a nice little Greek restaurant.

With the warmer temps, my capris that I made from old jeans last summer, have been a wardrobe staple. I am happy to say that I look much more pulled together in summer than I ever do in winter, for casual-around-the-house-wear.

Summer allergies have been terrible here this year. I spent the better part of one day this week giving the bedrooms a thorough dusting, vacuuming and cleaning. I pulled furniture out from the walls, so I could dust/vacuum behind. I tore beds apart, vacuuming under, washing everything but the pillows. (The pillows I ran through the dryer on HIGH for 25 minutes, to kill off dust mites.) I vacuumed mattresses. It was a major undertaking, but in the end, I think it paid off. I actually had a decent night's sleep for the first time in weeks, due to not sneezing and wheezing all night long. I find that if I keep the house immaculately free of dust-mites during peak hay fever season, I fare much, much better.

And in the not-at-all-interesting department, I spent yesterday afternoon getting all caught up on budgeting, bill-paying, account reconciling and correspondence. When I finished, I made myself a great cup of decaf, to reward myself for sticking to it all for several hours.

So, my week has been filled with busy days. With my daughters now off to work each day, I am hoping to tackle a couple of projects in the next two weeks.

And how has your week been?

Preserving summer's bounty: 2 recipes for brandied cherries -- 1 sweet and 1 spicy

The winter table can look quite bleak when sticking to a small grocery budget. By preserving some of the abundance of summer, in vinegars, preserves, pickles and sauces, I have interesting ingredients to add to the menus, during those lean months of December, January, February and March. 

I also enjoy being prepared for last-minute gift-giving (hostess gifts, thank you gifts, birthdays between friends and just-because gifts). These last minute gifts just take a quick decant into a lovely bottle or jar, a ribbon bow and a pretty little handmade label.

This week, our cherry trees are ripening. In addition to simply plucking them from the branches and popping into my mouth, I like to save just a hint of summer's grand flavor.

Brandied cherries can be as simple as sweet cherries infused with a brandied sugar syrup, or for a boost in flavor, add some whole spices to your solution. We have two cherry trees in our yard, one with sweet red cherries, and the other with purple Bing-style cherries. I like to make the sweet solution for the purple cherries, and the spiced solution for the sweet reds.

For basic sweet brandied cherries:

Simple Brandied Cherries

2 lbs sweet cherries
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
1/3 cup brandy
3 to 4 pint-sized jars

Sterilize jars (about 3 to 4 pints, one of which will be for leftover syrup).

Pit cherries. (I use a pitter, but every few cherries, the pit is stubborn and I have to push it out with a small straw or coffee stir stick.)

In a medium saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Add pitted cherries and simmer 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in brandy. With a slotted spoon, scoop cherries into sterile jars. Add brandy syrup to cover. Pour remaining brandy syrup in a separate jar, to use on ice cream, crepes, cake, or in trifle.

Refrigerate for a month before using. Will keep in the fridge for a year.


For a heavier brandied cherry, with a spicy note, these Spiced Bandied Cherries make a nice gift, or a holiday table addition.

Spiced Brandied Cherries

1  1/2 to 1  3/4 lbs sweet cherries
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
small pinch (about 8 seeds) of cardamom seeds
1 cup brandy
1 quart jar with lid

Sterilize jar.

Pit cherries, set aside.

In a medium saucepan bring sugar, water, lemon juice and spices to a boil. Simmer 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and add brandy and cherries. Toss cherries well in syrup.

Spoon cherries and spices into jar, covering cherries completely with spiced brandy syrup. If I am short of syrup, I mix up equal parts of brandy and water by the tablespoon, to top the cherries (or I just eat several cherries right then and there).

Cap the jar, and give it a gentle shake. For the first month, every few days, the jar needs turning, to insure all of the cherries are infused with the brandy solution. Store in the refrigerator for 6 weeks before consuming.

If gifting these, after the "ripening" process, I decant into pretty little 1/2-pint or 1-pint jars. I add 1 fresh cinnamon stick to each jar, more for looks than flavor. And I make sure to include "keep refrigerated" on my label, along with suggestions for use.

Spiced Brandied Cherries are delicious spooned over vanilla ice cream, plain cake squares (vanilla or chocolate), in triffle, dipped in chocolate, or simply in a dish on the dessert buffet during the holidays. My personal favorite is chocolate-covered cherries. I drain the cherries well, then dip in melted dark chocolate.


Either of these recipes can also be processed in a hot water bath, for 10 minutes, if you wish to store them in a cupboard or pantry.