Cherry Time!

Well, the family reunion photos are going to have to wait for a bit... because I can't hold on to these yummy cherry pictures any longer! I spent last week in Elk Rapids, MI... and to get there, you have to drive through the heart of cherry country! There are cherry orchards everywhere, and the sour cherries are JUST ripening... aren't they beautiful?
On the way up North, we might have stopped the car on the side of the road so I could get out a take a few photos of the cherry trees...
Towards the end of the week, my dad, aunt and uncle headed to a U-Pick farm for some cherry goodness. Here's my Uncle RT...
And my Aunt JVL... aren't the strap-on buckets a great idea?
So pretty... and SO yummy!
My dad ended up picking 13 lbs of cherries... so my mom and I got to work making them into yummy treats! First, we rinsed them...
Then it was time to pit them. My parents have this nice pit-er...
And this not as nice pit-er. Also, please note how pretty my mom's nails are- what a great hand model!
After a while (a LONG WHILE), we had pitted all the cherries... this is what we got:
Yep- that green bowl is full of pits!

After the pitting was done, it was time to get to the canning of CHERRY JAM! First, we put the jars on to boil- each one is half filled with water, and there's also water in the pot.
To make the jam, we used my parents' trusty Cuisinart. As I learned, some people (my dad) prefer their jam to be a little junkier...
So I pulsed the cherries in batches, and only very briefly!
According to the recipe, I combined the cherries, sugar (there was a little more than the two cups that this picture shows)...
And lemon juice.
Then, I put it on the stove and stirred until it was a rolling boil. After adding the pectin (again, per the recipe), the jam was ready to can.
But first, you have to scrape off the foam... we got lucky and there was hardly any to scrape!
This stage of the canning is a two person operation at our house, so my mom filled the jars...
While I sealed them them...
And flipped them over. I'm still a novice canner, so I'm not sure exactly why we do this, but after 5 minutes we flip them back up.
Here are the jars just after flipping... if you look in the upper left corner, you'll see we still had some cherries left over (those will come up later).
Miracle of miracles, every jar SEALED! PLEASE NOTE: This is the first time I have been so involved in the canning process, so I was l a little worried that my first time canning would be a bust, so I'm super thrilled!
Yep- we made 18 and a half jars of yummy, homemade cherry jam!
It's pretty in the jars, but even prettier on a slice of bread, displayed on a Fire King Jadite dish!
Mmmm.... delish!
But as I mentioned above, there were still lots of cherries leftover! So, my mom made a pie! She used some extra dough to make these pretty little leaves for the crust.
I just love the look of this!
Unfortunately, I had to catch my plane back to NYC, so I didn't have a chance to see the final product... but it sure looked yummy going INTO the oven!
Phew... that was a lot of photos! I had a blast making the jam- I can't wait to can MORE stuff someday! Thanks for stopping by- have a great Tuesday!

Back from Michigan

It's official... my vacation is over! After an amazing seven days in Michigan, I'm back to the grind in NYC. I had such a good time in my 'home-state', it will probably take me all week to share the pictures... I apologize in advance.

First, I thought I would share some pictures that I took of my parents' yard. I wasn't home for very long, but that didn't stop me from taking a tour of their gardens... and ORCHARD! That's right- my parents started an orchard in their backyard. They have pears...
Peaches/nectarines (I can't tell what these are going to be... one or the other, I think)...
And Honey Crisp apples (I'm drooling just THINKING about how good these apples will taste)...
They even have a plum tree, which looks like it's doing very well!
After a stroll through the orchard, I headed to the front yard, with a quick stop at the Ginkgo tree... we LOVE this tree!
In the grass garden (by the mailbox), I spotted this yucky beetle- I took care of him after the picture!
Yep- that's the house I called home for 13 years (and let's face it... I still call it home!).
There are a couple different kinds of day lily that surround the birch tree in the front yard. There's this pretty orangey-red one...
And a vibrant yellow one!
Here's another shot of the house... I love how green everything is in the summer!
Around the side of the house are the new day lilies. Last summer we visited a day lily farm, and each one of us picked out a new day lily for the garden. As you might expect, I can't remember who picked what or what they're called... except for the one I picked out! So here's a nice multi-colored one...
And a pretty peach one, with ruffles.
And this one is really vibrant!
And this scarlet one is awesome!
And here's mine: a soft pink, double ruffle, called Music Medley. Yep, that's the one I picked... surprised?
That's it for a little tour around my parents' gardens... I have boatloads of pictures to share, so please feel free to stop by the rest of the week! Happy Monday!

When the moon hits your eye...

Like a big PIZZA PIE... that's amore!

SFS took me out to dinner last night at my favorite pizza place in Astoria... Alba's! (I've had their number on speed dial since I moved to NY three years ago, I swear.) But, in my typical style, I didn't remember to take pictures until after the meal was over.
Trust me, the pizza was amazing! And here are all the yummy spices that you get to add on... I stick to basil and Parmesan, while SFS lays on the hot pepper flakes... yikes!
As we waited for the check, I was trying to go for a nice, smiling shot... but my model had something else in mind...
And now he's just messing with me!
Alba's has fountain soda... hence my big, goofy grin!
Here are the leftovers... cold pizza for breakfast is one of the greatest inventions EVER!
After that, it was time to go home and do some packing. I am headed to the land of my birth (Michigan) for the week, to hang out with the rowdiest, loudest, and craziest group of people I know...

Otherwise known as our family reunion!
Yep, that's the whole gang (in our matching family apparel, of course). While I'm away, there's a chance I won't be able to blog with my normal frequency, but I'm sure going to try! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Book Nook - Personal History

Personal History
By: Katharine Graham

What’s this book all about?
It’s the autobiography of Katharine Graham, the woman who ran the Washington Post, and during the Nixon years oversaw the Watergate coverage which later lead to his resignation. She won a Pulitzer for the book in 1998.

Why did you purchase this book?
I didn’t purchase it at all. A friend loaned it to me, saying that “since you like to read biographies, you’ll LOVE this!”… she gave it to me without a dust jacket, hence my fancy wrapping!

Who was your favorite character/person in this book?
Oh man… where do I start? Katharine Graham is a pretty remarkable woman… but I would have to go with Ben Bradlee or her mother Agnes Ernst Meyer.

Was there a certain point in the story when you wished the book would never end?
Pretty much the whole time! This woman led a fascinating, yet difficult, life. A few times I was a little incredulous at her opportunities and encounters (Truman Capote threw her a ball in NYC), but she had no problem sharing her mistakes and inadequacies, which was refreshing.

What’s a really great quote you came across in reading this book?
“I suppose Mother has told you that we met Einstein. He was simply grand! His hair is positively a nest and he had on a bright blue sort of “over all” suite, and a pipe in his hand. His wife won’t let him smoke cigars… Their house is very plain but awfully pretty- near a lake. He sails a boat along. It’s built with a very flat bottom so it won’t tip over when he gets absent minded. When people see his boat running around in circles they know that a new theory is being formed.” Katharine wrote this in a letter to her father at the age of 11; she and her mother had been visiting Europe and spent the day with Einstein and his wife.

If you were promoting this book, what would you use as the key selling points?
Katharine Graham led an incredibly interesting life- she was friends with presidents, literary greats, leaders in the business world, and more. She shares her insights, bother personal and professional, in a very honest way.

Would you recommend this book to others?
Definitely! I didn’t know much (if anything) about her prior to opening the book, so I was enthralled the whole time. The only downside? The book is quite long and weighed a lot as I schlepped it around.

This is what the book looked like as I read it on the subway... some of my friends thought I was reading Twilight and was embarrassed about it! :)
I swear, I really do read books without pictures in them!