I cherry-ish you!

Tart and sweet golden fruits with a blush of pink

Our Rainer Cherry tree has provided an abundance of fruit, but we've been contemplating how to preserve it all.

We thought about dehydrating the cherries into raisins treats, but ended up freezing them into Iced Cherry Bombs.

We tossed them onto a sheet pan and froze them for several hours, then poured the results into mason jars. Super easy.

Their consistency is like Italian ice- not too sweet and very refreshing on a hot day!

Our favorite cherry pitter is a metal straw. There's something tactile about watching a Midsomer Murder Mystery episode while pitting cherries lol

Next, we experimented with canning low sugar, cherry-almond preserves. We adapted the New Ball Book of Canning's Tart Ginger Cherry recipe on page 116.

Instead of ginger, we added almond extract, which meets National Center for Home Food Preservation's okay list. We essentially water bath canned the cherries in extra-light syrup, halving the sugar, which still complies with the PH threshold on page 112.

A little taste of the final result is WOW! I look forward to adding them into warm oatmeal and mini cobblers this winter.

I plant and preserve because our health and hearth depend on it. I plant with all my might.

I love the sufficiency of growing food and having it for a rainy day. I think it stems from early childhood experiences with food. There are so many pleasant memories, but in elementary school, there were economically challenging times. Food scarcity made our refrigerator empty, and I often dreamt of food in my sleep. Having the power now to grow anything is empowering and healing on so many levels.

Many of the old ways and skills of planting are becoming "lost". Health wise, many are dependent on quick factory foods devoid of nutritional value. I've discovered the quickest meal is right on my patio-salads of kale, arugula, and lettuce. I want my family to have organic whole foods grown with my hands and my heart.

Food is love.

Make today an adventure,