Cherries and the Pits

     When I was growing up my Grandparents had a cherry tree in their back yard that would have zillions of cherries on it every fall.  Grandma and Grandpa would pick them and then make pie.   The few times I was at their house during cherry time I honestly thought the cherries were too sour for my taste.  Now that they are both dead I can honestly say I never was too impressed with their pie.  Low and behold when I was offered a FREE case of cherries the fact that I wasn’t a big cherry fan didn’t deter me.  I gave an enthusiastic hell yeah and snatched them right up.  After all, I have two kids to feed.  Surely one of them would like them, right?

       When I got the box home, I hurriedly dug out a cherry and was delighted to discover it was really sweet and delicious!  Who would have thought it?  I have never made a cherry pie, or cherry anything but with a whole case at my disposal I was determined I was going to bake something filled with cherries and not have them go to waste.  I had visions of cherry pie and cherry cobbler dancing in my head.  All I needed was a good recipe.  I started researching pie recipes and realized every single one had almond extract in it.  I didn’t have almond extract, so I decided to find a cherry cobbler recipe instead.  After consulting Betty Crocker, where else can a computer savvy girl go?  You got it, I googled it and found a great cherry cobbler recipe which happened to include ingredients that I already had on hand.  

         After a late breakfast I asked my daughter if she wanted to help me make cherry cobbler.  I knew she would because she absolutely loves to help in the kitchen.  It didn’t take long to realize I had overlooked one very important fact.  I didn’t know how to get the pits out of the cherries and since I don’t own a cherry pitter I found myself once again in front of my computer.  While surfing the internet I found the coolest video that two guys made showing how to make your very own cherry pitter using an old fork.  I made one of their handy dandy DIY cherry pitter’s and we were in business.  Since my daughter soon proved to be the expert at getting the pits out, that became her job.  Her hands and arms quickly covered in red cherry juice and a disgusting looking pile of cherry pits soon formed in front of her as she worked. 
  

          Our handy dandy homemade cherry pitter did the job and after an hour of baking we had a yummy cherry cobbler.  I was amazed how good the cherry cobbler tasted!  Why waste precious money on a high priced cherry pitter when you can make your very own at home using something you already have on hand?  The only downfall I found was that I didn’t know my own strength.  When I used the vise grips to bend the tines down they broke off completely.  It really didn’t matter much because it is the two tines in the center that are slightly bent at the tips that does the dirty work until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.