HOW TO: Pit a Cherry without a Cherry-Pitter

I have a cherry pitter. Let me rephrase: D has a cherry pitter; I don't care for kitchen gadgets that do only one thing. But, it must be buried, because we couldn't find it this afternoon. And I needed 2 cups of fresh cherries pitted for a recipe I'm testing.

"Don't worry, Mom," said the Precise Kitchen Elf. "I read about this in my life's hacks book."
Your what?!
"The book about life hacks...in the kitchen hack chapter. I'll pit the cherries. Just give me a straw."
Okay.

Note: he used one of our stainless steel straws. But, just to be sure, he tested it with a paper straw as well. It worked fine. We didn't have any plastic straws to try.

Step One: Remove the stem and place the straw to the cherry where the stem was.

Step Two: Press the straw through the meat of the cherry while holding over a bowl for the pits.

Step Three: Pull the straw back through the cherry. It's pitted!

R whipped through 2 cups of cherries in no time flat. Wow. Who knew? I'm impressed. And I'm doubly happy because that straw now has two purposes!

Comments

Hot Chocolate Agasajo-Style {Spice It Up!}

photo by D For my Spice It Up! kiddos this week, I was looking for an exotic drink to serve while we learned about saffron. I found a recipe from food historian Maricel Presilla that mimicked traditional Spanish hot chocolate from the 17th century where it was served at lavish receptions called agasajos . When I teach, I don't always get to shoot photos. Thankfully, D grabbed my camera and snapped a few. Ingredients serves 14-16 1 gallon organic whole milk 3 T dried rosebuds - or 2 t rosewater 2 t saffron threads, lightly crushed 3 T ground cinnamon 3 whole tepin chiles, crushed 2 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 1 C organic granulated sugar 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate Procedure In a large soup pot that can hold a gallon plus, combine milk, dried rosebuds (or rosewater, if you are using that), saffron threads, ground cinnamon, chiles, vanilla beans, and sugar and warm over medium heat till it steams. Whisk to dissolve sugar, then lower heat an...

Ki Ngombo = Okra

In honor of Mardi Gras, I searched for traditional recipes for gumbo...only to discover that there is no canonical recipe for gumbo. It seems there are as many recipes for gumbo as there are cooks! The only two constants in a gumbo: variety and okra. The term 'gumbo' likely comes from an African dialect whose word for okra is ki ngombo . Gumbos can have meat, seafood, just about anything. In Mark Huntsman's "The History of Gumbo" he refers to written mentions of using muskrat and owl in gumbo recipes. I embraced the unlimited potential of ingredients and opted for a combination of fish, chicken, pancetta, oysters, mussels, octopus, shrimp, and squid...and lots of okra!

A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige #ItalianFWT on CulinaryCam.Com

I am in the process of migrating over to my new domain. Come on over to read " A Cheese Board Anchored on a Trio of Italian Cheeses + A Pinot Nero from Alto Adige " for December's #ItalianFWT.

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Search This Blog