Homemade Cherry Pitter

I love fresh cherries. If you love cherries you know that the pits are quite a pain, especially if you want to can them for future enjoyment in the winter time. Those of you who own a cherry pitter, it's easy for you. I do not have a cherry pitter, so I have been just cutting the cherries in half then dig out the pit.

Well, not anymore! I have found a way to pit those cherries without a pitter. All you need is a pair of chopsticks(which you can get for free at the Chinese Take-Outs) and an empty glass bottle(small mouth bottle).

Place and hold the cherry on top of the bottle(that's why you need a small mouth bottle, so that the cherry doesn't fall into the bottle). Using just 1 chopstick, poke the cherry in the middle until the pit falls through. The bottle acts as the pit collector.

And there you have it.

I used a glass bottle because it's sturdy. I don't know if a plastic bottle would work as it's not as sturdy. Also I don't think a kabob skewer would work because it's not as think as a chopstick.

It's All About Me

I saw this post at Ann's blog (Velvet Lava) and thought it would be fun to do. This is not a tag, so I won't be tagging anyone. But if you would like other people to get to know you better, you are more than welcome to do the same thing at your blog. Now please don't forget to let me know if you do post about it because I sure would like to get to know you better. If posting this whole list is too much or you don't want to "reveal" that much of yourself, please feel free to just pick one question and answer that in my comment.

Here goes:
1) Last movie you saw in a theater?
Oh I don't remember, it was years ago.
2) What book are you reading?
None right now. Too busy in the summer time. I'll have more time to read in the Winter.
3) Favorite board game?
None
4) Favorite magazine?
Taste of Home
5) Favorite smells?
Basil, Tomato sauce simmering on the stove, my dogs(yes, I'm wierd)
6) Favorite sounds?
Waves, My little June snoring.
7) Worst feeling in the world?
Feeling helpless when hubby or the girls are in pain or sick
8) What is the first thing you think of when you wake?
Am I going to win the lottery today?
9) Favorite fast food place?
Wendy's
10) Future child's name?
Probably won't have any kids but I do love these names: Samantha, Natasha, Aidan, Ethan, Marcus
11) Finish this statement - "If I had a lot of money I'd..."Do what makes me happy, buy land with lots of acerage so I can adopt lots of unwanted/abused/homeless dogs."
12) Do you drive fast?
Yes
13) Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Not stuffed but they are animals(including the hubby...hahahaha)
14) Storms - cool or scary?
Cool! I love thunder and lightning.
15) What was your first car?
Ford Taurus
16) Favorite drink?
Bay Breeze, Mai Tai, Iced Coffee(need to be strong), Hot Cocoa
17) Finish this statement - if I had the time, I would......"foster homeless/abused dogs"
18) Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yes if it's not too tough.
19) If you could dye your hair any other color, what would be your choice?
Red Wine color.
20) Name all of the different cities/towns you've lived.
Taiping, Malaysia; Baton Rough, LA; and here
21) Favorite sports to watch.
Baseball.
22) One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Nobody sent me this. But it came from Ann's blog I will say one nice thing about her - funny!
23) What's under your bed?
Dog hair and dust.
24) Would you like to be born as yourself again?
I don't think so, I would like to be someone else. Not because I don't like my life, I just want to experience something else.
25) Morning person or night owl?
Night owl.
26) Over easy or sunny side up?
Both.
27) Favorite place to relax?
My bed, Fish Creek Pond Campground.
28) Favorite pie?
Coconut cream, Chocolate cream, Apple.
29) Favorite ice cream flavor?
Coffee, Chocolate.
30) Of all the people you have tagged, who is the most likely to respond first?
I am not tagging anyone.

When Life Gives You...

...Raspberries, make JAMS! That's what I've been doing lately.

Before raspberry season started, I said to myself: "Self, gotta go pick some raspberries this year. Better go find out where and when they are available". Well, came to find out, my neightbor across the street has tons of raspberry(red and black) bushes and he said I can pick them because he doesn't pick as much. Woohoo!

So I picked and I picked and I picked somemore.....I think I'm addicted to berry picking. Should I sign up for BPA(Berry Picking Anonymous)?

I've been making jams with these delicious berries. I managed to make a batch of Black Raspberry Jam and 2 batches of Red Raspberry Jams.
I don't normally eat toast or english muffins for breakfast. So, how do I get to enjoy my own homemade jams? Easy, use them in baking. But I have also recently tried something different. Instead of buying flavored yogurt for breakfast, I buy plain yogurt and I just mix in 1 or 2 teaspoons of jam with 8oz. of yogurt and some fresh fruits(or not) . Delicious!

And as for baking, try this:

Raspberry Cheesecake
Recipe taken from Philadelphia Cream Cheese Homepage, with my own twist!

Ingredients:
2 packages of cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or raspberry extract
3 tablespoons raspberry jam (for marble effect)
1 pre-made graham cracker crust
3/4 cup raspberry jam (for extra flavor!)

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) Mix cream cheese and sugar(with your stand mixer or using hand held mixer) until smooth and creamy.
3) Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Scrapping bowl after each addition. Mix until blended.
4) Spread 3/4 cup raspberry jam over graham cracker crust then pour in cream cheese mixture. 5) Dot top of cheesecake by small spoonful with the remaining 3 tablespoons of raspberry jam. Cut through batter with knife several times for marble effect.
6) Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.

Now go make some and enjoy. If you are nice, you could share but I won't blame you if you don't want to share! :-)

Just Chillin'

What were they doing on MY bed? Did I tell you it's MY bed? They just don't seem to get it. Damn dogs! (Sorry girls, I didn't mean to call you damn dogs, I meant good dogs)

Samantha, just chillin' on the deck.

Samantha is the one always having something in her mouth. June, she just likes to do whatever dogs like to do...SNIFF

Garden Update

Just wanted to give you an update on my garden. I had promised to post some pictures and as you know, I do not(still do not) own a digital camera, so these pictures are not quite up-to-date.

Here's my garden in early April, very bare. It's just a small one, about 10' x 20'. Please click on pictures to view larger image.

Chives and mint and a row of peas that the bunnies devoured.

Those sticks were my "marking" sticks. I used them to mark where I planted seeds, that way I won't acciddentally pull them thinking they are weeds.

Next picture shows when everything just got started. At the bottom of the picture is a row of mesclun mix. In the middle of this picture (which looks like * l *) are a row of radishes and broccolis that had just sprouted. And at the top is a row of onions.


This last picture was taken in early or mid June. All the warm weather plants(tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans) had been planted by then. A great thank you to my husband for putting in the sprinkler system for me this year.

I will try my best in describing the layout of my garden according to this picture. Here goes(looking at the picture): To the left of the gate, in the front are chives, mint, mesclun mix, broccolis, radishes(harvested), onions, bok choy(harvested), mibuna(harvested), another row of onions and basil. Starting from the 3rd pole to the end of the garden are all tomatoes, 22 plants in total. To the right of the gate from front are green beans, more mesclun mix, parsley, cucumbers(along the fence), butternut squash, sunflowers(along the fence), green bell peppers and jalapeno.

The garden is coming along very nicely. All the tomato plants are really big and tall now and I have also harvested 5, yes 5 cherry tomatoes! The sunflower plants are way taller then me(I'm 5'3"). One of them is at least 7' or 8' tall! Another one has 1 rust-colored flower that opened up! So exciting! Also harvested are some beans and cucumbers and lots of parsley and basil.

I do have some questions regarding onions to those of you kind readers who have more expertise in gardening than me. This is my first year planting onions and I have read that onions are ready to be pulled when the tops have fallen over. Well, mine are all fallen over and when I pulled one up it's still very small like the size of a golf ball. Should I leave them in the ground and let them keep growing bigger? Will they keep growing bigger? Did I do something wrong that they are not growing? Please help?

What did I make with my new toy?

I got a phonecall from hubby one day at work and it went something like this:
M: Hey honey, how come this KitchenAid Stand Mixer is still sitting here on the countertop not used?
Y: Ya, how come?
M: Well, since I got that for you for your birthday I think you should use it and make something.**
Y: I'm trying to think of something to make. What would you like?
M: I don't know.
Y: I can make a cake but we just had cake for my birthday. Alright, I'll think of something. **Note: When he gave me my birthday present, these were his exact words: "I figure if I get you this mixer, I benefit from it too. You get your present and I get my desserts." Hmmm...it's a win-win situation I guess.
Since this would be my first time using a stand mixer, I opted for a recipe from the KitchenAid manual/recipe book:


Cream Puffs/Eclairs

Choux Pastry or in French Pate a Choux:(This recipe came from the KitchenAid manual/recipe book)


Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup sifted flour
4 large eggs


Instructions:
1) In a sauce pan heat water, butter and salt to a full rolling boil. Reduce heat and quickly stir in flour, mixing vigorously with a wooden spoon until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan in a ball. Remove from heat.
2) Attach bowl and beater and add flour mixture to Bowl. Turn to speed 2 and add eggs, one at a time, beating approximately 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape bowl and beater. Mix at speed 4 for 15 seconds. If you don't have a stand mixer, a hald-held mixer works just fine on medium speed(I've made some eclairs in my "pre-stand-mixer" time)
3) Drop dough from metal mixing spoon onto greased cookie sheet or you could lined it with parchment paper. For eclairs, squeeze through pastry tube or gallon size ziploc bag into any desired shape, forming mounds three inches apart.
4) Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Lower heat to 350 degrees and bake for 25 minutes. Puffs are ready when doubled in size, golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove the puffs from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet. Once cooled, the puffs are ready to be filled.


For Filling, I've previously made some eclairs before using Gale Gand's recipe from The Food Network and I love it.


Ingredients:
2 cups whole, 2 percent fat, or 1 percent fat milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
6 egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter


Instructions:
1) In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to a boil over medium heat. Immediately turn off the heat and set aside to infuse for 15 minutes. **If you don't have vanilla bean, just use 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
2) In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cornstarch and whisk vigorously until no lumps remain.
3) Whisk in 1/4 cup of the hot milk mixture until incorporated. Whisk in the remaining hot milk mixture, reserving the saucepan. Pour the mixture through a strainer back into the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and slowly boiling. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Let cool slightly. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill at least 2 hours or until ready to serve. The custard can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate until 1 hour before using.


To assemble:
1) Make Glaze: In a small saucepan, heat the cream over medium heat just until it boils. Immediately turn off the heat. Put the chocolate in a medium bowl. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Set aside and keep warm. The glaze can be made up to 48 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, and rewarm in a microwave or over hot water when ready to use.
2) With a serrated knife, slice puffs lengthwise, but not all the way through. Pipe custard mixture into the center. Or for eclairs, use your fingertip to make a hole in the end of each eclair or you can use a chopstick. Using a pastry bag or ziploc bag fitted with a medium-size plain tip, gently pipe the custard into the eclairs, using only just enough to fill the inside (don't stuff them full).
3) Dip the tops of the eclairs or puffs in the warm chocolate glaze and set on a sheet pan. Chill, uncovered, at least 1 hour to set the glaze. Serve chilled.

Note: I have also made some raspberry cream to fill the puffs...more on that recipe later.

Now, making cream puffs or eclairs is quite time consuming but if you love to bake like me, you'll know it's worth the time when you sit down and enjoy the fruit of your labor. Some people will say why go through the trouble, just go to the store and buy them. It's just not the same.

Hide and Seek

This is June's newest game. Can you see where she is in this picture?

She likes to find tall brush, get inside, dig a hole for herself and then hide in there to cool off.

There she is:

And look closely at this one, you will find her hiding in there: