Blueberry Muffins

If you've never gone to a farm or orchard and picked your own fruit, you're truly missing something. There is a connection to nature, the land and the farmer, an appreciation you can't realize when you grab a bag or can from the grocery store. Hearing the birds singing in the surrounding meadows, feeling the sun's warmth on your skin, the cool sensation when a cloud floats by and of course swatting a few bugs along the way. Bring your friends and take the time to share stories and enjoy each others company.

Here's a recipe I think you'll enjoy. This comes from my mother-in-law.

Cream 1 cup sugar and 1 Tbl butter, add 1 egg, 1 cup sour cream, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder and 2 cups all purpose flour. Mix well. Take 1 and 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, and if wet, roll them in flour to coat, then add to batter. Fold gently until berries are evenly distributed. Put in muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

( I always put mine in paper liners in the muffin tins. They stick like mad if you don't)

Cherry Time

Around here the sweet cherries are just about done but the tart cherries are ripe for the picking. I don't know about you, but to me, cherries are mmmmm, delicious. Everyone else must love them too. Think of all the cherry flavored things there are in this world. Candy, soda, ice cream, jelly, pastries, popsicles, freeze pops, taffy, coffee and the list goes on. Thinking of cherries just makes you happy. I always picture the two cherries with the little leaves attached. There is even a child's game where you try to collect the most cherries to win.

I collected cherries with Deb last week. I feel like a winner. We each picked over 20 pounds of the luscious fruit off trees hanging heavy with their bounty. This orchard has the best cherries I have ever picked. The picking was easy. The cherries came off in handfuls and in no time at all we had our buckets full and went back to the little store for more buckets.

I had a little thrill though when we came in from the orchard. The young lady servicing the checkout told me no one was available to pit them for us. You see, if you pick tart cherries for canning, pies and jams, you surely know how important it is to have them pitted. I have no idea exactly how many individual cherries it takes to make 24 pounds in a bucket, but I can say without a doubt you don't want to pit them yourself, at home, one at a time!

So, one of the important reasons I chose this orchard was because they offered pitting for free. When the young woman said "no one here to do that right now" my heart skipped a beat. I had a flash of the torture that awaited me at home. I did that once before a l-o-n-g time ago when I was still naive about such matters. It's one of those lessons you learn and never repeat.

With a little pressing we were able to convince her that we needed to have them done right there, right then. Honestly, I was prepared to jump across the counter and press her into service if needed. We were NOT going home with that many cherries with the pits still inside.

Fortunately, the crazy lady inside me got to stay inside, the cherries were pitted and everyone was happy that day.

Fried Eggs

My father once told me these were the best fried eggs he'd ever had. I sure was flattered. He was 77 when he said that and I guess he'd eaten plenty eggs in that time. Funny thing was, I learned how to cook them from his mom, my grandmother.

Choose a heavy pan, turn heat on low, I put my burner on the second to lowest setting. Melt enough butter to generously coat the bottom of the pan. Don't be tempted to heat the pan fast to get the butter melted, it affects how your eggs cook and they won't be as good. Patience is needed for this job. When the butter has melted, crack your egg(s) into the pan. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper if desired. Let the eggs cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until done to your liking. If the tops are not firming up, you can cover the pan for the last few minutes or just flip them over to finish.

You will have the most tender fried eggs you've ever eaten. If you can, get them from the farm. They're even better then!