My back yard had a cherry tree when I moved in. I have no idea what kind it is, but it produces a lot of cherries. I haven't tried them yet to see if they're sweet, edible, and bug free, but most of them are bright red and soft to the touch. They were so infested with aphids a month ago that some of the leaves were black with them. I ordered and released over a thousand ladybugs. Most of them, as predicted, flew away to parts unknown, but enough of them stayed, or flew back, to make short work of the aphids. I saw ladybug eggs, instars, pupa, and adult ladybugs, and now my tree has nary an aphid. A lot of leaves still are sticky with honeydew, and there's some residue that the aphids left behind, but I don't see any aphids. Thank you, little ladybugs!

I'm located in north/central MN, probably having climate conditions like you do. You need to give blueberries a try. I went to a lot of extra work initially to plant them, but I needed to because of the soil here. The top soil here was only about 7 inches deep so I turned this top soil off to the side. The next 6" of sand was removed, hauled away, and replaced with damp spagnum peat moss and aged sawdust. I mixed everything (topsoil,peatmoss & sawdust) with a rototiller as I gradually backfilled the furrow. I had 2 furrows that were 30" wide by 60 ft long each. A 2 bottom plow can help a lot with this. The majority of the plants that I put in were half-highs and spaced 4 ft apart in 2 rows 8 ft apart. 25 of the half-highs are Chippewa, Polaris, and StCloud. Two other half-highs that I'm going to try next year are Superior and Friendship. All of these are available from St.Lawrence Nurseries in Potsdam, N.Y. I also have 4 Bluecrop plants that are taller and so far they haven't been winter damaged but that may be because last winter wasn't brutal. There are also 6 mystery blueberry plants that were moved from other locations. My current Apples are Haralson, Honey Crisp, and Zestar. 52 ft row of Boyne, and 52 ft. row of Autumn Britten raspberries. SLN has a black raspberry that was bred 20 miles from here in Pequot Lakes, MN. Winter hardy here. Name = "Pequot Black Raspberry" This will be added next spring too. Other "To be Added" are: Nova Pear, Bali Sour Cherry, and King of the North Grape.

Newer version of Annie's Salsa - BWB only Annie's Salsa 8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 2 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 3 to 5 chopped jalapenos (for milder leave out seeds and ribs) 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp cumin (optional) 2 tsp pepper 1/8 cup canning salt 1/4 c fresh cilantro (optional) 1/3 c sugar (optional) 1 cup cider vinegar (see note on subbing lemon or lime juice option) 16 oz canned tomato sauce (to adjust density) 8-16 oz canned tomato paste (to adjust density) Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process pints for 15 minutes in BWB. Makes 6 pints. _________ A lot of changes have been made to this recipe over the years. Some people like lemon or lime juice in place of some or all of the vinegar, that's fine. (Note from Sheila - I like half lemon half lime.) Some people leave out the cilantro, that's fine too. Do not increase! Some people add more hot peppers or fewer onions, fine as long as you keep the same total measurements. (Note this is what NCHFP does in their new Choice Salsa recipe.) Some people leave out the sugar, that's fine. You can scoop out the goo in the middle of the tomatoes with your thumbs when I'm peeling and chopping for a less seedy version, so it's 8 cups of chopped tomatoes without the seeds and goo. Most who make it regularly as well as Annie recommend using a variety of different slicing tomatoes, not paste types, for best flavor and consistency. (Note: use the tomato sauce and paste to adjust the consistency of the final product to a "sloshy" consistency.) According to Annie "My salsa is not as thick as Heinz catsup but it's thicker than taco sauce. If you don't like it quite as thick or sweet, cut down the amount of paste. I would add some, then taste. Reducing that ingredient shouldn't affect the safety of the recipe. I use equal amounts of sauce and paste. You can pull it off the heat at any point and adjust for flavor. Before I cook it I check for salt, sugar, check the consistency. Add more pepper or cumin if I want. When I first started making this salsa, tomato sauce and paste came in 8 and 16 ounce cans. Like everything else, they've now been downsized, so now I have to use partial cans." Does anybody have good versions of the other recipes that have weird symbols in them for measurements?

BREAD PUDDING -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 slices white bread 1 (1 lb. 1 oz.) can pitted dark sweet cherries Vanilla Sauce: 1 c. milk 1 c. heavy cream 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 4 egg yolks Custard: 3 1/2 c. milk 5 whole eggs 2 egg yolks 1 c. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla extract Make vanilla sauce: In small pan over direct heat, bring 1 cup milk with cream and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla to boil just until bubbles form around edge. Remove from heat. In top of double boiler, with electric mixer at medium speed, beat 4 egg yolks until thick. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar, beating until soft peaks form when beater is raised. Add hot milk mixture. Place over hot water. Cook, stirring until coating forms on metal spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into bowl. Refrigerate 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim crust from bread; cut in half diagonally. Drain cherries. Turn cherries into bottom of buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Overlap bread slices on top. Prepare Custard: In small saucepan, over direct heat, heat milk just until bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove from heat. In medium bowl, with electric beater, beat whole eggs and egg yolk until light and foamy; gradually beat in sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time. Beat until well blended. Gradually pour in the hot milk, beating constantly. Add vanilla, mixing well. Pour custard over bread and cherries in baking dish. Set baking dish in large shallow pan on lower rack of oven. Carefully pour hot water to 1-inch level around dish. Bake, uncovered, 45 to 50 minutes or until knife insert- ed in pudding 1-inch from edge of dish comes out clean. Remove to rack to cool. To serve, spoon sauce over individual serv- ings. Makes 8 servings. --------------------- 24 HOUR SALAD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 egg yolks, beaten 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp. butter or margarine 2 c. drained pineapple tidbits 2 oranges, peeled, sectioned and cut in pieces sweet cherries (for garnish) 2 Tbsp. sugar 2 Tbsp. pineapple juice dash of salt 2 c. pitted, drained sweet cherries (fresh or canned) 3 c. miniature marshmallows 1 c. whipping cream, whipped Mix egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, pineapple juice, butter and salt in top of double boiler. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick, about 3 minutes. Cool in 9 x 9-inch dish. Stir in fruits and marshmallows. Fold in whipped cream. Chill 24 hours. Garnish with sweet cherries. In winter try substituting orange sections for cherries. Serves 4 to 6 people. ---------------------------- QUAIL AND CHERRIES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8 quail salt and pepper 5 Tbsp. butter, melted 2 Tbsp. brandy 1/4 c. white wine 1 c. chicken stock 16 oz. can black cherries, drained 1/4 c. syrup from cherries 1/2 tsp. lemon rind, grated 1 tsp. lemon juice Salt and pepper quail. Drizzle butter over birds and roast in oven until well browned. Add brandy, wine and stock, continue cooking 10 to 12 minutes, turning several times. Remove quail to hot plates. Pour sauce in a small saucepan; add cherries, cherry syrup, lemon rind and lemon juice. Add a little more stock, if needed. Simmer until cherries are thoroughly warm. Spoon sauce over quail, place cherries around birds. Serve with wild rice. --------------------------- KIMMEL CHERRIES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3 qt. sour cherries vinegar to cover cherries sugar (1 c. for every 1 c. cherries) Pit cherries and place in large bowl Cover with vinegar and let stand overnight. Drain the next day, pressing out all the vinegar. Add 1 cup of sugar for every 1 cup of cherries. Twice a day, stir until sugar is all dissolved. It takes 3 to 4 days. Place in crock-pot or heat and can in pint jars. --------------------------------- MAKE YOUR OWN MARASCHINO CHERRIES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 c. sugar 3 c. water 1 oz. red food coloring 1 oz. almond extract 1/4 c. lemon juice 4 1/2 lb. cherries (3 c. stemmed equals 1 lb.) Any type of cherries can be used but Royal Ann are the best looking. Sour cherries are good. Wash and pit cherries. Soak overnight in 1 1/2 quarts of water with 2 tablespoons salt and 1 teaspoon powdered alum. In morning drain and rinse thoroughly. Add sugar, water and food coloring. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Let stand another 24 hours. Add lemon juice and almond extract and bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat. Fill hot, sterilized jars and seal. ------------------------------- CHERRY MALLOW SQUARES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 (3 oz.) box raspberry jello 1 (1 lb.) can pitted dark sweet cherries 1 (No. 2) can crushed pineapple 1 (3 oz.) box lime jello 3 oz. pkg. cream cheese 1/2 c. tiny marshmallows 1/2 c. whipped cream Red Layer: Dissolve raspberry jello in 1 cup boiling water. Chill. Add 1 pound can dark, sweet cherries. Pour into a square pan and chill. Green Layer: Drain crushed pineapple, reserving 1 cup of the syrup. To the syrup, add the lime jello. Heat and stir until dissolved. Add to the lime jello, cream cheese and beat this mixture. Then add 1/2 cup cold water, the crushed pineap- ple and tiny marshmallows. Chill this mixture until partially set. Fold in 1/2 cup whipped cream. Spread the green layer on top of the red layer. Chill until firm. Cut into nine squares. --------------------------- DARK CHERRY SALAD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 pkg. Cool Whip 1 large pkg. cream cheese 1 c. sugar 1 can pineapple 1 can dark sweet cherries 1/2 c. nuts Mix cream cheese and sugar; fold in drained crushed pineapple; drained dark sweet cherries. Beat in mixer. Add Cool Whip and nuts. Let set in refrigerator for several hours before serving.