In these here parts....

I love my heritage. I think it's really cool that I come from hearty, German stock. Somehow I have inherited my moms partway muscular arms. I'd like to think it's because I'm so healthy and disciplined, but I think my ancestry probably included lots of manual laborers. I also love the fact that our local cuisine includes many hearty dishes. Chicken pot pie, sugar cakes, hog maw, chicken corn soup, and cherry pudding are just some of the dishes that hail from this region.

Cherry pudding is a real treat in our house. It is basically a moist white cake with sour cherries baked in. We always eat ours warm with plenty of milk poured overtop. Now, "in these here parts" we pronounce this dish, "churry puddin". Don't ask me why, I guess it's just part of the local dialect.

Local bakeries prepare and sell this dessert, but it's very easy to make at home! The only challenge is having access to sour cherries. I buy and freeze sour cherries in the summer so I can make cherry pudding and sour cherry pies. If you know of anywhere to buy frozen sour cherries, I would be most interested in hearing about it. Maybe there are websites that specialize in frozen fruit?

Here is the recipe for cherry pudding, courtesy of my mom

Cherry Pudding
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup half and half
2 1/2 cups flour
4 tsp baking powder
2 cups thawed and drained sour cherries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs.
3. Add dry ingredients alternately with half and half. Stir in cherries.
4. Sprinkle additional sugar on top and bake for 30-40 minutes.