For the Love of Dirt: July 2025

Thursday, July 3, 2025

CHERRIES.CATS. Things to make with cherries....

Tons of cherries. The trees so heavy with fruit the branches lean halfway to the ground. Birds, racoons, ravens, humans feasting on cherries. Here's a couple of things you can make with them. For company that drops by in the summer. A treat. Send them home with bags of cherries as well!

"Life is like a bowl of cherries....don't take it too seriously. It's mysterious." -Bob Fosse

Stories

BLACK FOREST BROWNIES

1 pkg brownie mix or homemade. Some of the pkg brownies are really good.

½ cup oil ¼ cup water 3 eggs

*Beat these ingredients together. Preheat oven to 350 as usual and prepare a 13 x9 pan.

TOPPING after brownies have cooled in pan:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

½ cup sugar

½ tsp vanilla

1/3 cup whipping cream

1 1 and a 1/2 cups freezer cherry jam (easy recipe below) Then decorate with fresh cherries. You can also use cherry pie filling if strapped for time.

1 cup white choc wafers , melted carefully.

1.Pour brownie batter into13x9 pan. Bake as directed on box. Cool

2.Beat cream cheese, vanilla and sugar till smooth

3.In small bowl beat whipping cream and fold into cream cheese mixture.

4.Spread over cooled brownies.

5. top with freezer jam.

6. Melt white chocolate and drizzle over brownies.

7. chill then serve to some very lucky people!

Sweet rewards.....

CHERRY FREEZER JAM ( quick and easy) It's more like a sauce....

· 3 cups cherries, fresh or frozen (chopped) Frozen cherries are GREAT!

· 1 cup blackberries 2 tablespoons lime/ lemon juice

· 3/4 cup sugar if using fresh cherries. 1/2 cup water

1 package no-cook freezer jam pectin (optional)

Take a large bowl and mash all together till sugar is dissolved. Frozen is easier to use. You can decorate with fresh blackberries or fresh cherries. Keep the extra cherry preserves in fridge, cause it won't last long, or freeze in small freezer containers. It is great to eat frozen at midnight...kind of like a sorbet!