StoneGable: ON THE MENU MONDAY~ Week of June 11, 2012

I am always amazed at our small orchard! One peach... one apple (was two)... and one sour cherry. The harvest vastly varies from year to year! Some years our trees are stingy, yielding little fruit. Other years our trees make a note worthy attempt at growing fruit but get picked clean by the birds and insects, especially when we do not spray. And other years it is as thought our tiny orchard is sound asleep and the trees are too lazy to spend the energy on fruit production!

But this is almost a magical year...

This year, our sour cherry tree gave us the most wonderful, beautiful, perfect sour cherries we have ever seen... and it was in a generous mood! We have never had such a marvelous harvest!

Bobby's favorite thing to spread on his English Muffin in the morning is my sour cherry jam. So I am up to my elbows in jam making this afternoon! The house smells sweet and the kitchen counters are sticky as I am preserving early summer in a jar! Look for a Sour Cherry Jam Culinary Tutorial in an upcoming post!

Okay, peach and apple trees.. are you going to be outdone by a CHERRY tree... and a sour one at that! Show me what you've got!

This week I am trying two new recipes from last week's On The Menu Monday participants!

Featured Recipes this week: Grilled Ale Portabella Mushroom Burgers from The Adirondack Chick and Country Club Chicken from Wives With Knives

Now, here's what's ON THE MENU...

MONDAY
Perfectly Roast Chicken
Roasted Vegetables

TUESDAY
Pan Seared Tilapia With Caper Parsley Sauce
Homemade Gnocchi
Fresh Tomatoes With Basil And Olive Oil

WEDNESDAY GIRL'S LUNCH
I am having a girl's luncheon with my friend Pinky from Designs By Pinky We met though blogging and have been great friends ever since!
Wild Mushroom Bisque
StoneGable Chicken Ceasar Salad
Strawberry Shortcake In A Jar
(look for post on Thursday evening)

WEDNESDAY DINNER
Country Club Chicken
Spaghetti
Garden Salad With Balsamic Vinaigrette

source

THURSDAY

Grilled Ale Portabella Mushroom Burgers
Homemade Potato Chips
Fresh Veggie Straws And Homemade Parmesan Peppercorn Dip
(Upcoming Post)

source

FRIDAY
Rotisserie Beef Eye Roast
Mashed Potatoes And Pan Gravy
Roasted Asparagus With Shaved Cheddar

SATURDAY~ FATHER'S DAY COOKOUT
Hamburgers and Hot Dogs
Fixin's
Slow Cooker It's Not Rocket Science Baked Beans
Corn On The Cob
Three Berry Cobbler
Homemade Vanilla Iced Cream

SUNDAY~ FATHER'S DAY DINNER
Wedge Salad
Balsamic Marinaded Flank Steaks On Skewers
Sauteed Mushrooms With Marsala And Cream
Baked Potatoes

OTHER RECIPES ON THE MENU...

Herbed Compound Butter

View Recipe

Popsicles

View Post

STONEGABLE PRINTABLE RECIPES
Pan Seared Tilapia With A Caper Parsley Sauce
Wild Mushroom Bisque
Slow Cooker It's Not Rocket Science Baked Beans
Rotisserie Eye Roast
Roasted Asparagus
Wedge Salad
Balsamic Marinade
Sauteed Mushrooms With Marsala And Cream
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

STONEGABLE CULINARY TUTORIALS
Perfect Roast Chicken
Ceasar Salad

RECIPES FROM OTHER SOURCES
Homemade Gnocchi

FEATURED RECIPES
Ale Grilled Portabella Mushroom Burgers
Country Club Chicken

Now what's ON YOUR MENU...

Thanks, for joining us and sharing!

* Please link your post using your permalink

* Please link back to ON THE MENU MONDAY in the body of your post

* Please visit other OTMM participants

I am participating in:
Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie

24 comments:

MaryJune 10, 2012 at 8:10 PM
Hurray for cooperative fruit & cherry trees! Our neighbors have a fig tree that we are welcome to help ourselves to if the birds decide to share with us! Thanks for having me this week :)
kitty@ Kitty's Kozy KitchenJune 10, 2012 at 8:15 PM
Hi Yvonne, I love making jam and only eat homemade! I so look forward to your recipe for the sour cherry. We don't have any fruit trees, but I'll be going to my favorite grocery store for the cherries. Thanks for hosting OTMM. p.s. I have my little pine carryall on my kitchen island. Wish I could send you a pic!!
KathleenJune 10, 2012 at 8:23 PM
I look forward to the jam recipe! As soon as the cherries come down in price I will get ny handy dandy cherry pitter out and make it!
Thanks for hosting!
LynnJune 10, 2012 at 9:08 PM
Glad to hear your cherry tree is happy this year! If there's one thing I know with absolute certainty, it's nothing is guaranteed and make hay while the sun shines-enjoy:@)
Pinky at Designs by PinkyJune 10, 2012 at 9:49 PM
Our cherry tree is FULL too, but too high to get to:):) The birds will have a FEAST! The menu for lunch sounds FABULOUS!!!!! I can't wait!!! The portabella burgers I will try too! I have the recipe for the country club chicken to try too. See you Wednesday, just CAN"T WAIT!!!!!!!!! House goes on the market in the morning. XO, Pinky
SylviaJune 10, 2012 at 11:03 PM
Oh, how I love sour cherries and sour chery jam! You made me miss my grandma's little orchard, Yvonne :) I am happy for this year's garden filled with "magic " . Enjoy!
Sam Hoffer / My Carolina KitchenJune 11, 2012 at 6:06 AM
Your sour cherry jam sounds fantastic Yvonne. How nice to have a small orchard in your back yard.

Your menus, as always, sound delicious. Thank you for hosting On the Menu Monday. Today I have a tip on how to make the flames from Bananas Foster flame and sparkle like the 4th of July.
Sam
Sharon @ mrshinesclassJune 11, 2012 at 6:09 AM
Oh, how neat that you get spend time with Pinky. She is one of my blog friends, too. Although, I've never met her in person. Y'all have a great girls time!

Sharon @ mrs. hines class
AnonymousJune 11, 2012 at 8:17 AM
I'm so looking forward to your post on Cherry Jam. I've never made it before. Hoping the recipe for Parm Peppercorn Dip is on before Friday. Having a Ladies Ministry Mtg here all day Saturday and having Cobb Salads for lunch. Wouldn't that be perfect!! :)
Decor To AdoreJune 11, 2012 at 8:27 AM
The first picture of your post made me think of my childhood home. Every June our three bing cherry trees (or cheery trees as I called them :) were just lovely. We would pick and eat, repeat.

At the 11th hour a miracle has happened. I knew it would :) He is ever faithful. Details will follow soon. Thank you for your encouraging friendship.
Diane BalchJune 11, 2012 at 9:18 AM
So glad to hear someone's trees are fruitful. We have apple and peach trees and have not gotten very much fruit in the last few years. It is so wonderful when you do get it! Thanks for the party see you next week.
Michelle MaskalyJune 11, 2012 at 9:37 AM
Thank you for selecting my Grilled Ale Portobello burger for Thursday! Hope you enjoy it :)
RenéeJune 11, 2012 at 10:07 AM
We are hoping for some cherries this year. We are way behind you though! Thanks for having this bash for everyone.
Cathy at Wives with KnivesJune 11, 2012 at 11:07 AM
You make menu planning so much easier, Yvonne, with all the wonderful recipes and suggestions you give us. Thank you so much for the link to my blog. Cherry season is starting and I'm going to be on the look out for sour cherries. Our local ones are mostly bings and rainiers.
Linda @ Life and LindaJune 11, 2012 at 2:24 PM
Mild winters are wonderful for so many gardens. This week's menu sound delicious. I am sure my friend Pinky will really enjoy the special luncheon. Thank you for hosting.
AnonymousJune 11, 2012 at 2:45 PM
I'm looking forward for the cherry jam recipe! We bring home frozen Montmorency cherries from Door County, WI, so I'll have fun making jam with your recipe!
MichelleJune 11, 2012 at 7:40 PM
Sour cherry jam sounds really good...can't wait for the recipe! Thanks for hosting! :)
AnonymousJune 11, 2012 at 7:47 PM
Yvonne,
Hello,
I love fresh cherries they are the best. Your jam sounds devine. Thank you for hosting.
Deb AJune 11, 2012 at 8:46 PM
I love what you are serving this week!
JulieJune 11, 2012 at 8:49 PM
Thanks for hosting! Your menu for this week looks amazing!!! That compound butter is BEAUTIFUL!
Miz HelenJune 11, 2012 at 10:36 PM
Hi Yvonne,
Your Girls Luncheon with Pinky sounds wonderful, I am going to be watching for the post. I am recovering from a wonderful week end with friends at The Picnic. Hope you have a fantastic week and thanks so much for your great party!
Miz Helen
The Charm of HomeJune 12, 2012 at 2:18 AM
Yvonne! This all sounds so good! Lucky Dad! What a great menu. Thanks for hosting!
Sherry
AnonymousJune 12, 2012 at 11:07 PM
Every week when I see your menus, I think I'm going to plan ahead. Something always seems to happen to my good intentions, and I find myself making many trips to the grocery for that little something I don't have. Thanks for sharing so many wonderful taste treats.