Cherry Pie and the 4th of July!

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men

and so it must be daily earned and refreshed –

else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots,

it will wither and die.

~Dwight D. Eisenhower

Our Montmorency sour cherry tree is loaded with ripe. juicy tart cherries! We’ve been picking and filling our baskets for several days. What to do with the bounty of fruit? Cherry pie for the Fourth of July, of course!

It takes 8 cups of un-pitted cherries to equal the 5 cups needed for pie filling. Don’t toss the pits after you remove them! Add a bit of water to them and simmer on the stove top for a light cherry juice that’s really tasty added to lemonade and other beverages.

Mix 4 c. of pitted sour cherries, 1 1/4 c. organic white sugar and 4 Tbsp. tapioca together in a mixing bowl. Let sit 15 minutes. Meanwhile prepare pastry for a two-crust pie (or unroll a store-bought crust) and line a 9″ pie plate.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and top with the remaining pastry. I used a pastry wheel to make this slightly imperfect lattice top crust for the holiday (we don’t have pie very often). Remember to cut slits to vent if you are using a traditional top crust. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet to catch any drips, cover lightly with foil and bake at 375 degrees for thirty minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 25-30 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the crust is browned.

(NOTE: Extra cherries can be pitted and frozen or mixed into pie filling and frozen that way. Have a few cherries that are too ripe for eating fresh? The juice makes a delicious cherry jelly..and you won’t need to pit the cherries! )

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