Flathead Cherries

About an hour and a half from our little hamlet, there is the littler hamlet of Polson, Montana.  Polson is special for a few reasons.  My dad lived there for a long time and I have spent many a day enjoying Polson's small town charms.  Everyone is nice in Polson, it's sort of a rule.  But the thing that makes Polson really fab-u-lous is that it is the mouth (at least from our direction) of Flathead Lake.  Flathead is a huge lake, about 15 miles long, and it is beautiful.  It's beautiful in the summer, it's even beautiful in the winter when it is as gray as glass and frigid cold.  (Remind me to tell you about the time we had a dog decide to take a midnight swim in a December freezing Flathead Lake and I had to physically restrain Dustin from diving in after him.  Dustin loves dogs.)

(above image stolen from a Polson realty website, forgive me)

Anyhow, there is something about that Flathead Lake goodness that makes the surrounding land explode with cherries.  Like, really good cherries.  The kind that put the town on the map for its cherries.

So on Saturday, we travelled on over to Polson and spent the morning picking those bright, plump, juicy nuggets.

Did you know that a parent can be substituted for a ladder.  Yep, it's true.

So, now we came home with an entire cooler full of cherries and have spent the last few days sharing, jamming, pie-ing and the like.  I'm going to try a clafouti, any good recommendations?  Any other recommendations for cherries?  We've still got a lot.  At a $1.25 for organic cherries, we had a hard time stopping.

Comments

[elaine]

I love, love, love Flathead Lake! I've only been there once and still remember the peacefulness and beauty of it. Hopefully I'll get to take my wee ones there one day.

[Dana]

Your pictures remind me of our beautiful cherry trees when we lived in WA. So beautiful and so delicious....I miss them! I tried a clafouti last month from www.wholefoodsmarket.com. It was very easy to make and we used strawberries, blueberries and cherries. We enjoyed it, but wished there was more custard. I would probably make a second batch of the custard and add as much as I could fit into the dish. You may need to increase the cooking time if you did this. I wish you the best...I'm a BIG fan!
Dana

[Angela D. Smith]

I love Flathead cherries and remember them fondly. I'm a MT girl too (but living in Utah) and am now craving Flathead cherries.

So, funny story. As I was looking through the pictures you have of cherry picking day I realized that I know your hubby~! I went to school with him in Missoula. Small world!

[Cassie @ You Go Girl!]

Flathead Lake...you really can't beat it. Especially in the summer time! We're at the lake (in Polson) almost every weekend. Stuffed my belly full of cherries just last Sunday. I intend to do it again in a few days. Your cherry shots are so pretty. I love that shade of red!

[Amelia]

The cherries look delicious, but your sandals in the last photo really captured my attention. Where did you get them from and do they sell them online??

[SarahB]

What a fun place! My favorite cherry use is as a filling between layers of chocolate cake. I just pit the cherries, put in a pan with just enough water to cover and add some sugar. Simmer until the cherries soften and it all starts to turn into a gel. Cool and add into the cake. I've also used the same as an ice cream topping.

[Violet]

Those cherries don't even look real! They look too perfect to be real cherries. Oh my yummy goodness. I'll help you out with those extra cherries. You just send a pie right on over to my house... no problem! :)

[Lisa]

The cherries look perfect! They look like you've photoshopped them red they are so bright and beautiful. I can understand why you had a hard time stopping at that price! I hope they taste as wonderful as they look.

[Kristi]

I grew up in ND and my dad would eagerly await the Flathead Lake cherries. Usually when we went to the ND State Fair there would be someone with a truck selling these yummy cherries. He would buy a whole flat! He's gone now but this post brought back great memories - thanks :)

[Elizabeth]

Loved this post. Although we get our cherries from the grocery store, I could imagine joining you on your wonderful trek. Thanks for posting!

[mummy_chelle]

We love cherries here so I was salivating. But I had to laugh at your comment about them costing a dollar something. Here they sell for around $16 - 29.00 per kg when they are in season! So at your price I would snap them up LOL!

[Nancy Jane York]

What beautiful photos of the cherries, just luscious. Yes that is very cheap for cherries you would not believe what they sell for up here in Alaska.

[tara]

Flathead Lake is beautiful. I've only been there once, but I keep hoping to get back there someday. Montana is absolutely beautiful.

[Jessica M.]

I have visited your blog off and on for a while now, and was delighted today to discover that you live in my area! I'm just curious...do you own a shop locally that is open to the public? Or do any of our local shops carry your products? By "local" I mean within the Flathead Valley. Keep up the beautiful work...you're inspiring!

[Ann Bates]

Sandi- wow, just the perfect pick-me-up post I needed today. The Flathead Valley and Glacier are really special places in my life. Thanks for sharing this. It's so nice to see sheer joy during summertime in Montana.

[Juddie]

Dreamy!

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