Life is just a bowl of cherries

Last Friday our friend Matt delivered wine for the fabulous Bridal Shower we were hosting on Saturday and brought with him nearly 25 pounds of cherries.  He thought he was being really funny leaving me with so many cherries - but after a weekend of making things, I'm down to one last tiny bowl that's sitting in the refrigerator for the kids to snack on.

Here's what I made

 :: Cherry Jam :: 
A fabulous recipe from The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook.  Rachel's recipes always turn out well so I knew I could count on her to make this a great batch of jam.  Mission accomplished.

:: Cherry Ice Cream :: 
I bought an ice cream maker last week and we are going to be ridiculously fat by the end of the summer.  Heavy cream + sugar + fruit = heaven.  This cherry ice cream is amazing.  I'd post the recipe, but it seems a little unfair because the ice cream maker is a vital part of the recipe - and I don't want to 'require' a purchase.  Although there is one for under $100 at Williams Sonoma right now...

:: Cherry Muffins ::
Inspired by Martha's cupcakes that look the same, I wanted to make something for my kids to eat at breakfast without me feeling guilty.  Muffins seemed better than cupcakes...  The cherries with pits look awesome, but were highly impractical for my little ones.  I did a few of them but the look of disappointment when Lars discovered there was a 'seed' in them was priceless - it's below.  Here is the recipe.

:: Dried Cherries :: 
Pitted, left whole and dried in the food dehydrator the flavors condensed and became a right dense cherry bite.  They are amazing.  And because I didn't dry them out entirely, they are living in the freezer until I know what I want to do with them which leads us to...

:: Cherry Bread ::
Made like banana bread with dried cherries inside.  Yum!  Recipe to come this week (I have a few kinks to work out...)