Big Reminder and How to Freeze Cherries

 Hello everybody! Thanks for all your wonderful comments on my previous post! You are all spoiling me! I am getting used to comments! They are actually quite addictive! I love reading and responding them! So nice!

Now... a quick reminder... Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!! And we have our "Coffee Party" here at the Coffee Shop... we call it "Coffee Friday" and to be part of it you just need to:

1. Mention coffee on your post (your whole post doesn't have to be ALL ABOUT COFFEE but just mention it)... (either tell us that you went to a coffee shop or that you brewed some coffee at home or that you used coffee grounds for your garden, ANYTHING that is coffee related)

2. Link Back to us somehow inviting people to come and join this Coffee Party! You can use this button:

<center><a href="http://www.love4coffee.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="The Coffee Shop" src=" http://tinyurl.com/84v43fd "/></a></center>

And then just stop by tomorrow (and every Friday), get your cup of coffee and Link up!!!

If you would like to be THE FEATURED BLOGGER you just need to send me your "coffee pictures" (1 or up to 5)  to: love.for.coffee@gmail.com, along with a link to your blog, link to your favorite post and telling us something about yourself and why you like coffee... when you do I will just send you the date when you will be featured and everyone who stops by that day will have "the cup of coffee you served" (through your picture) and will be able to stop by your blog to get to know you better and thank you for the cup of coffee!

So... don't wait any longer and start taking your pictures and mentioning coffee for tomorrow's post so you can join this "Coffee Party".

------ ok... that reminder took a lot longer than I thought... now our "How To" ----

So... got a lot of fresh cherries and you're done eating them "for now"? Are you afraid they might go bad? They are very delicate so yes, they might go bad quickly... but don't lose their delicious flavor now that they are in season and keep it longer by freezing them properly.... Here is How to do it:

1. Start with ripe fresh cherries, wash them, drain them and place them on a paper towel, while you gently pat dry them as well.

2.  Pit the cherries over a baking sheet to catch all the juices that might be released while pitting. If you don't have a cherry pitter then I guess this is a guide on "how to pit cherries" as well. If you want to keep your cherries whole you just need to:

• Remove the stem
• Insert a toothpick or even a paring knife where the stem used to be until you can touch the pit.
• Bend the utensil that you are using (toothpick or paring knife) -I use the paring knife- and twist around the pit until you loosen it and then you just press the cherry (almost squeezing) the pit out. 

What I prefer to do is just remove the stem and then cut all the way around the pit with a paring knife, pulling cherry in half, and removing the pit (it's pretty easy, actually)

3. Arrange the pitted cherries on the baking sheet you've been working on (I actually used a 9x13" pan)  on a single layer, making sure there are no cherries on top of each other and place them in the freezer (on the baking sheet) for at least two hours or overnight.

4. Once the cherries are completely frozen transfer them to a "freezing sealable bag" (try to get as much air as possible out of the bag) and place them back in the freezer until you are ready to use them.

Now just enjoy them in smoothies, shakes, cakes, cobblers, pies or just pop them frozen in your mouth! They are delicious!
  
© Paloma K.