I just found out that February is National Cherry Month!  Whew!  We almost went the whole month without celebrating it!  That was a close one. 
      Friday Faves late edition today is all about our favorite cherry recipes! 

Lindsey's choice is Cherry Pie, made with fresh cherries!  Remember that if you want all kinds of pie recipes, you can find them in our Pie Book, available as an eBook on etsy. 

Maddy's choice is similar to LIndsey's. She loves the little cherry hand pies that we also feature in our pie book.  You can get our pie book today for $2.00 off with code CHERRYFEB if you head to our etsy shop today! 

Alicia's choice is the Black Forest Cake she shared when she was doing international recipes.  She says that she can't stop thinking about this cake.  It was so good. 

Helen's Choice:  Okay, I had a really hard time choosing!  I love the angel food cherry pie cupcaken! But I also love this Cherry Coffee Cake!  

But, I finally decided on this Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake!  I gave you the recipe to make it in the crock pot before (except with blueberries), but this is the recipe I use in the regular oven.  This cake is such a favorite, we make it in many forms, in the oven, in the crock pot and in the dutch oven when we go camping.  If you haven't tried it, you will love it.  It is quick and easy to prepare and the taste is so wonderful. Here is the original recipe: 

     
      So, there you go! Hurry before the month is over and celebrate National Cherry Month!  If you try any of these, let us know how you like them! 

     Hi everyone!  It is that time again to make something giftable with our own hands here on Handmade Monthly.  This kitchen scarf makes a perfect gift!  How do I know?  Because I received one as a gift and I love it! 

     This isn't a scarf to wear in the kitchen to create a chic addition to your wardrobe, although these can be pretty cute.  This scarf is so practical and absolutely genius!  Of course, by dear friend Anita is the one who taught me about them and gave me one! Anita always comes up with and/or finds absolutely genius ideas.  She also gave me permission to share this pattern with you. 

      Anita introduced me to these before Christmas, so I was able to make some for my sisters and some friends last Christmas.  I am going to make more this year for the people that I missed. (Even though these are a quick project, I still couldn't get to everyone!)
     Here is the beauty of the kitchen scarf: 

• You wear them around your neck, so you won't be misplacing your kitchen towel as you bake.
• They are handy to use to move something a little too hot to handle bare handed. 
• You can make them in colors to match the kitchen of the cook! 
• They are super inexpensive to make. They only require 1/4 yard of fabric and 1 kitchen towel! 
• They whip up really quickly!  
• They make a much more impressive gift that just a plain kitchen towel! And, when you get the colors or prints that match the person's kitchen or interests, they feel the love you are putting into this project. 

     So, are you ready to get started on this sweet project?  Just click the read more button to get the simple, detailed instructions. 

For What to Read Wednesday this week I've got a book series that would be perfect for your kids or grandkids who like an adventure without any real scary parts.

The Geronimo Stilton books follow the adventures of newspaper mouse, Geronimo Stilton, and his sister, Thea, cousin, Trap, and nephew, Benjamin.

The books are formulaic but different enough from each other that I didn't find them tedious to listen to with my kids. They're geared towards 6-8 year olds but I listened to them with my son and daughter and my 3 year old son loved them! He would often ask to go to the car to listen to "the mouse story" since that's where I'd play them. We've listened to about 5 or 6 of the books and will continue to listen to them in the future.

​A bonus is that the first 7 or so books are read by the late Edward Hermann! His voice acting in the story was a delightful listen even as an adult. Listening to books is a great benefit for kids. I noticed that my son's pronunciation and vocabulary has increased since we've regularly started listening to books on tape.

The series is originally Italian but has since been published in America, and the UK. It's been around since 2000 and still has books coming out so there's plenty for your kids to enjoy.

So are you ready to take on these fun adventures with Geronimo Stilton? Or have you already been enjoying your time reading these fun stories? Let us know in the comments below!

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    We have still been having cold, rainy weather here in Phoenix and I've got to tell you that I have actually been enjoying it as I anticipate the approaching summer months.  It occurred to me that I had better get some baking out of my system now before we hit those scorching hot days when I won't be turning on my oven. 
​      I like to read April J. Harris' blog.  She has some wonderful recipes and this one, a Blackberry Apple Cake, was very tempting to me.  Unfortunately, I didn't have blackberries or some of the other ingredients called for in the recipe.  But I did have some frozen blueberries and Honeycrisp apples, so I decided to make something similar, but different with the ingredients that I had on hand.  The result of that decision came out quite delicious! 

     For ease of removing from the pan after it is baked, be sure to use a greased 9" spring form pan.  I made do for years without a spring form pan, but after I got one, I realized how nice they are.  I found this great set on Amazon that has 3 sizes of pans plus spatula and smoother at a great price! 

       You will smooth the thick batter into the pan and then top it with a brown sugar cinnamon mixture and the apples.  It looks great in the pan, even before you bake it!  

      Now, you bake it for 45 min.  The aroma is so amazing, warm and inviting!  It makes your mouth water just looking at it.  Here it is straight out of the oven.

       I let the kuchen rest for about 10 min. after coming out of the oven.  Then, removed the outer ring and used a long spatula to set it on a serving platter.  This is the beauty of the spring form pan.  You don't want to flip those beautiful apples upside down and hide them! The long, offset spatula is another tool I didn't know was so helpful until I got one. It is a simple thing, but is such a big help for jobs like this one. 

     This fruity kuchen will make a beautiful dessert or even nice breakfast coffee cake.  My husband and I ate dessert first last night!  That is one of the beauties of being empty nesters! You can do what you want! 
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