Cherry Pies are Born

If all goes well, it looks like we might have a sour cherry crop for a couple three cherry pies this June...my absolute favorite pie. As a matter of fact, first Kevin and I get a piece, then we offer it to the diners. We also like to make a few batches of sour cherry jam, and, if there's plenty, cherry pickle, which is so good with roasted duck. All this cherry stuff is really a labor of love - love of cherry that is! - since they have to be picked and pitted by you-know-who. I've pretty much got the pitting down pat - I use a big bobby pin to pry the pit out - and Kevin is in charge of a lot of the picking.

My recipe for Sour-cherry Pie is pretty basic:

For one 10 inch pie, use 5 cups of pitted sour cherries, 1 cup of sugar, 1/3 cup of tapioca flour (or 1/4 cup of cornstarch - but I really prefer the tapioca flour) and a couple drops of almond extract. This results in a not-too-sweet but not-too-tart pie, and usually just barely thick enough to stand up as a slice. It is well worth the effort, and my mouth waters just looking at that tree...