Things are pretty low-keyed in the Zeorian camp right now.
Yesterday was a day of being on the road. Callie and I left camp yesterday morning and headed for Woodward, OK. Jim and Taylor had left about an hour earlier to get Frank to his appointment with the mechanic. Frank had a leaky wheel seal and a broken spring. I swear I’ve been treating him nicely…sometimes, though, things start falling apart because of age (believe me, I know).
Once Callie and I found the repair shop, we all jumped in the Nasty and headed for Oklahoma City. The new parts could either be shipped from someplace like Memphis, take several days and cost double OR we could take a road trip to OKC for the same things and less money spent. We opted for the OKC trip, of course. It was about a 5 hour round trip excursion. Taylor tried her darndest to get her dad to take her to the OKC bombing museum and memorial but it didn’t work. Not this time. We picked up the parts, made a quick trip to Taco Bell and were headed back to Woodward.
This morning was spent catching up on laundry and some much needed cottage cleaning. Jim and Taylor left about an hour ago to pick up Frank. I’m not sure what the plan is but I think we’re all beginning to feel like it’s time to be moving on! I’m going to assume (and you know you should NEVER assume anything but I’m gonna) we’ll be loading equipment tomorrow and making the first trip north to Deerfield, KS.
In the meantime, I’ve heard from Jamie and Mark about the cherries they’re picking from my tree in my yard at “home, home”. I got that cherry tree quite a few years ago from my bestest buddy, Trish, as a gift. I planted it with the anticipation of having cherries like the ones I used to pick from my Grandma’s tree as a kid. I have NEVER picked one cherry from that tree – everyone else does. Why? Because I have been gone every summer since that tree was planted. I’m so glad it provides so many happy memories, pies and other cherry recipes (and yes, Callie, even cheery ones) for the ones who do get to indulge in them. I’ve got a neighbor who will freeze a few bags for me so I have been able to enjoy them too.
Jamie was requesting my Ohio Sour Cherry Pie recipe so I decided I would just include it in this posting so you could enjoy it, as well. No pictures to help show you how to do it – you’ll have to just imagine how it looks.
Fillings:
1 20 oz. bag frozen unsweetened pitted tart cherries (about 4 cups) or you can use 2 16 oz. cans, drained (reserve ½ cup liquid). Reduce sugar in filling to 1 cup. Add 5 or 6 drops of red food coloring.
1 ¼ c. sugar
¼ c. cornstarch
¾ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract
2 Tbsp. margarine/butter
1-2 drops red food color
In 3 qt. saucepan, cook frozen cherries, sugar & cornstarch, stirring occasionally until mixture boils and thickens; boil 1 minute. Remove saucepan from heat, stir in vanilla & almond, margarine/butter & food coloring. Cool one hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Put filling in prepared pie crust (I use the boxed pie crust found in the refrigeration section of the grocery store). Brush pie with milk and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake 35-40 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling. Cool.
Yum!! Makes my mouth water just thinking about it!