We had a horrible storm here yesterday. Thunder, lightning, a big pelting hailstorm. A nearby crack of lightning killed my computer. It’s completely fried, along with two other gadgets and the network ports they were attached to in Adam’s technology cave (also known as the laundry room closet). I’m currently posting from our library computer, which I’ve usurped until my new parts get here and Adam can fix my motherboard (I sound like I know what I’m talking about, right?).

I was kind of freaked out by the storm, what with the roof sounding like it would collapse under the hail fire and my computer dying from an apparent EMP. But someone else found it positively excellent conditions for a long summer’s nap.

So I took the opportunity to use up some of the sweet cherries I bought at Whole Foods the other day when I stumbled into a 1-day, $1.99 a pound special on them. I won’t mention how many pounds I bought, but I still have plenty of cherries (rest assured). I clearly also decided it was the day to sneak into Adam’s camera lens stash and play with my Big Girl Camera.

I used Smitten Kitchen’s Sweet Cherry Pie recipe from a few years ago, with the Pate Brisee crust that is my complete go-to pie crust now. I only had 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, so I used flour to make up the last tablespoon as per the directions here. I worried that the pie would taste like flour, but pies bake for so long it’s not a problem. It didn’t make my pie filling look wet and juicy going in, though. But it was all good in the end.

This pie was phenomenal, and it was a good flavor contrast to the mini cherry pies I made for our cookout. The little bit of almond extract makes a huge difference in getting that classic cherry flavor.

I <3 summer, don’t you?

Other posts on this topic: Strawberry Week Day One: Strawberry Hand Pies.

Okay, this recipe was the main event of my strawberry mania this year. I used The Pioneer Woman’s recipe to make 6 big jars of seriously amazing jam. And it was actually pretty easy and straightforward. I do love canning more and more these days.

I had 12 ounce mason jars instead of 8 ounces, but for some reason I ended up with only 6 jars of jam from the same recipe. I think that’s plenty, though.

Pioneer Woman’s Strawberry Jam

Ingredients
5 pints strawberries, hulled
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained
1 1/2 (49-g) packages powdered fruit pectin (**this is basically 1.5 boxes of fruit pectin, each little box had 49g in it)
10 1/2 cups sugar

Canning supplies:
Large canning pot (large enough to completely submerge the jars in water–**I use my big stockpot)
Canning tongs
Twelve 8-ounce mason jars with lids and screw-on rings (**I ended up with 6 12-ounce jars, go figure)
Wide-mouth canning funnel
Canning rack to go inside the pot (**I use my pie weights on the bottom of the stockpot)

(more…)

I kind of went crazy with strawberries this year. So much so that I have a whole week’s worth of strawberry recipes to post. So I’m doing one a day, and I’m starting with the shortest.

I was allergic to strawberries as a kid, but last year I made this strawberry pie to satisfy Adam’s love for the berries. And. I. Was. Smitten. Strawberry pie, on its own, was so good I actually daydreamed about it for the rest of the year.

So when Adam’s boss had a cookout right at the beginning of strawberry season last month, I jumped on it. Hannah and I headed out to Battleview Orchards and loaded up. I used the same strawberry pie recipe I used last year, but I decided to make hand pies instead. Meredith posted about her strawberry rhubarb hand pies at the same time, and then I knew for sure this was a good idea.

First I bought this pie mold to help me shape them. You use one side of the mold to cut out the crust shapes.

Then you use the mold to fill and shape the pies.

I followed the mold’s directions for baking the pies, and when all was said and done I made 13 pies. This ended up taking, I think, 4x the amount of dough of one pie and 2 or 3x as much filling. I really should have written that down for next year.

Also, I should have taken photos of the finished pies. I honestly, truly thought I did. But I cannot find them anywhere. Remember that Hannah was not quite 2 months old at the time, so I was even more scatterbrained than I am now. Just trust me when I say they were delicious, and they got eaten at the barbeque.

Yeah…I promise the rest of the strawberry posts aren’t this lame.

It’s the start of Memorial Day Weekend, and the arrival of summer has me making one of my annual Things to Do This Summer lists. Last year’s list was kind of a bust since I found out shortly into summer vacation that I was pregnant. After I got home from my summer travels I was basically hanging on to my bed for dear life while I got through the first trimester. Okay, it really wasn’t that bad at all…but I didn’t do much.

This year there is a Hannah. And adventures to be had! It’s time to start making the most of the weeks between now and September. So here are my super ambitious hopes for the summer:

• Finally learn EQ7
• Learn the basics of Adobe Illustrator
• Paint the small downstairs bathroom
• Take a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo and go to Pat’s for cheesesteaks
• Red Bank Riverfest
• Cheese Cave Fridays
• Jersey Shore Food Truck Wars
• Monet’s Garden at the New York Botanical Garden
• Smorgasburg
• At least one Meredith Monday at the Met
• Visiting Adam at work in the city on Fridays
• Some cookouts
• Look into roller derby
• Get a jump on some handmade Christmas gifts
• Plenty of beach days
• Head to some quilt shops with my mom
• Learn to make pasta
• Think about starting a quilt guild closer to my house
• Visit some farmers markets
• Some more canning, like jams and whatnot
• Chip away at my DIY list around the house (patching holes, cleaning closets, mulching the flowerbeds)
• Learn to grow tomatoes
• Head to England to show off Hannah to Adam’s family, and to attend my brother-in-law’s wedding

Like I said, ambitious. But I can’t wait!

It’s the first day of September, and for me the summer is over. But August had a lot of sweater days this year, surprisingly. Maybe that’s my own crazy body temperature, I’m not sure.

Anyway, the teachers report back on the 6th, the kids the following day. But in the meantime, I’ve gone from bailing out the basement post-hurricane to working up a storm at school getting the library ready. My mom, my niece, and my nephew all came in with me today to help process books and move stuff around after some library changes at the end of the last school year. They were such a huge help, I don’t know how I would have done it without them. I had terrible luck going in early this year: last Wednesday my mom came with me, we had to leave an hour later so the floor could be waxed. Next day Adam was off from work so he came to help, but my carpet was being shampooed. Then the hurricane. Now I’m running out of time, and I’ve got to get stuff DONE!

It’ll all be good by the first day of school.