I then spent the next two days, not making swaps, packing or making downline gifts, but instead, pitting cherries and frantically making jam, homemade maraschino cherries, cherry vanilla ice cream and cherry and orange zest infused vodka. Oh yeah, and freezing 8 pounds of pitted cherries for a future adventure.
I learned to pit like a pro. My house looked like a crime scene. My nails were dyed red for convention.
I don't know if you know this, but each time you use a cherry pitter (which is ingenious, by the way), a fine mist of cherry juice is sprayed all over you and your kitchen in a very CSI sort of way.
Had a policeman come to our house during that time, I might have been typing this post from the pokey.
But I got it cleaned up before I left. And I did my downline gift at Mel's house on Monday thankfully. As usual, the universe sent me the message that procrastination is extremely fun and productive.
But I did really enjoy the canning process. There's something very satisfying about knowing that you captured the magic of a fruit at the height of its perfection so that you can enjoy it later.
Especially in homemade cherry vanilla ice cream.
So I decided to immortalize the process for one of the Dare to Get Dirty challenges this week, hosted by the one and only, insanely talented Kittie.
I used a set and matching Framelits you can see in EXACTLY ONE DAY in the Holiday Mini!! SQUEEEEE!!!
Wait until you see this full set and the matching dies. You will freak like I did.
And maybe jam a little :).
Stamps: Perfectly Preserved (Holiday Mini beginning August 1st. Want one? Email me!)
Paper: Natural Composition Specialty DSP, Polka Dot DSP, Lucky Limeade
Ink: Gumball Green, Early Espresso
Accessories: Cannery Framelits (Also from upcoming mini catalog), Linen Thread, Dazzling Diamonds
Techniques: Frosting
Life is sweet. :)
Loveyameanitbye.
You have waaaay more domestic genes than I do. I bought like 2 pounds of cherries, and it's WORK! I'm glad to hear the official cherry pitter also sprays blood everywhere, because I'm sticking with my smash-it-with-a-knife-like-garlic method, and I'll keep wearing my hazmat suit and wiping down the walls. Looove me some fresh cherries.
ReplyDeleteOoohh, your cherry creations sound yummy. We just canned peaches, so I also had dark fingernails. To brighten them up, rub them in a cut fresh lemon, or use a fingernail brush and lemon juice (even the bottled kind works). This probably helps with inky fingers, too!
ReplyDeleteI love to make jam also -- and I agree, it's extremely rewarding. I love to give homemade jam for gifts. It always impresses the recipient.
ReplyDeleteI must go and download the mini now that I have a little free time!
ReplyDeleteI think jam making is sooo rewarding. But I know exactly what you mean about the cherries.
A while back you blogged about the garlic press as a single-use gadget. Now, I used to have one that also had a cherry pitter incorporated! But we can get affordable cherries so seldom (make that never, they're always a luxury!) that I ditched it somewhere along the way.
The icecream sounds super-delicious.
My latest preserving venture was pears with ginger, yum yum...
Life really does boil down to a bowl of cherries! Yum. I see an irresistible die set in my future..... "-)
ReplyDelete